Ted Kravitz suggests SURPRISE reason Russell could beat Hamilton

Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz has suggested that Lewis Hamilton might not push himself quite as hard to beat his upstart team-mate George Russell if the pair of them aren't fighting the Red Bulls for the world championship.

Last weekend's Australian Grand Prix saw Mercedes take their first podium finish of the season, looking competitive for the first time in 2023 and actually leading Max Verstappen around the first few laps until the race was red flagged.

Russell looked the racier of the two Silver Arrows, but an ill-timed pitstop and car fire put paid to any chances of a podium place of his own. However, the 25-year-old has out-qualified his veteran team-mate at every race in this young season, following on from a 2022 season in which he finished higher than Hamilton in the drivers' championship standings.

Speaking following a dramatic race in Melbourne, Kravitz admitted that the seven-time world champion may be struggling a little for motivation without a realistic chance of catching Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Thriving under pressure

"It's why we really want to see Mercedes challenging for the championship with Red Bull," Kravitz explained on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast. "Because then we can see championship-challenging George Russell against championship-challenging Lewis Hamilton – when they've actually got something to go for.

"That's what I want to see, to get the absolute best out of Lewis. I don't know this for sure, but I imagine, if I was Lewis Hamilton and I wasn't in for the championship, I'd be like, 'well, I'm not going for the championship so if George beats me, I don't really care'. You could reflect on 2022 like that.

"We've seen in the past that Lewis takes a step up when he's challenging for the championship."

Their respective fortunes in Melbourne mean that Hamilton sits 20 points clear of Russell in the drivers' championship as things stand, behind only the two Red Bulls and 2023's surprise package Fernando Alonso, who has made third place his own through the first three races.

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