Russell insists Hamilton exit 'GOOD' for Mercedes

George Russell has revealed he thinks it is ‘good’ that Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes at the end of 2024.

The seven-time world champion announced he would be departing Mercedes to join Ferrari for 2025, where he will hope to win a record breaking eighth world title.

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Hamilton’s last F1 win was at the 2021 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, a season where he was in an intense title battle with Max Verstappen.

Since then Verstappen has acquired three world championships, whereas Mercedes have slipped further behind their rivals, including Ferrari and McLaren.

Will Mercedes start giving Russell preferential treatment?

Hamilton has been outperformed by his team-mate in 2024, with their qualifying head-to-head at 7-1 in favour of Russell.

Following qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton hinted that favouritism was behind the qualifying deficit to his team-mate.

The 39-year-old qualified seventh whilst Russell was ahead in fifth, finishing in the exact same position during Sunday’s race.

Hamilton also revealed that Russell had received upgrades, and that he did not anticipate beating his team-mate in any further qualifying sessions this year.

Russell refuted these favouritism claims to Channel 4, stating that a ‘coin-toss' decided who ran the new upgrades in Monaco.

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In a recent interview with the Mail Sport, Russell discussed Hamilton’s exit and the impact it will have on Mercedes.

‘It’s a fresh start for the team. So many people here have shared success with Lewis, but change often ignites a new spark for everyone,” Russell said.

“It does that for Lewis, and it sparks that for us here next year.

“It is good that Lewis is leaving us now — rather in 2021, when it would have been difficult for the whole team.

“You have to adopt and evolve, and we are in that process of building from the ground up.”

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