Mercedes chief issues JUDGEMENT on Hamilton and Russell title chances

Mercedes chief technical officer James Allison has said that the team need to provide seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and his team-mate George Russell with better equipment so that they can challenge for race wins and titles.

Hamilton has not been able to secure a race victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while Russell claimed Mercedes' only race win of the past two seasons at the 2022 Brazilian GP.

The team have struggled with inconsistent car performance, and have followed up eight consecutive constructors world championships with two seasons of mediocre results.

Now, Allison has been talking about the chances of either of the two drivers being able to challenge for championships in the short term, or at least becoming regular race winners once more.

Mercedes need to do better

“They need us to provide them with the equipment,” Allison told Sky Sports’ end of year review show.

“Lewis has proved seven times that he’s world championship material. And he was the highest-scoring non-Red Bull driver this year.

“George has made one or two errors in the year but equally you’ve seen very strong performances from him in a number of races this year. It’s been quite a good learning experience for him in his second season with us.

“I’m certain that both men with the right equipment could both be world champions if they fought hard and well enough.”

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