Lewis Hamilton relishing chance to be 'wise sage' to Lando Norris and George Russell

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton relishing chance to be 'wise sage' to Norris and Russell

Mercedes driver sent messages of support after the duo's issues at Imola

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Sunday 2 May 2021 14:00

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Lewis Hamilton has suggested he is closer to his fellow F1 drivers than ever before and is enjoying the opportunity to impart his experience on British duo Lando Norris and George Russell.

Hamilton sent messages of encouragement to Russell and Norris after the Williams driver crashed out of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and the McLaren racer had a front-row spot taken away for track limit abuse.

A distraught Norris apologised to his team on Instagram saying he “effed up” and they “deserved better” but Hamilton replied: “Nobody can knock you for giving it your all. Amazing lap, it's great to see you and the team shine. Move on, let's race.”

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When asked about his response, Hamilton explained: “You’ve got so many talented people here and I think that what I would say is that I’ve grown closer to the racing community.

“All the drivers, we all have a huge amount of respect for one another and we communicate better than I think ever, certainly since I started in Formula 1, which I’m really proud of.

“We’re all human beings, we all have so much in common, we’re all focused on naturally beating one another but there’s a lot of really good people here and we all need to be supporting each other."

The 36-year-old Hamilton was 22 when he joined the sport in 2007 whereas Norris, who joined the grid as a teenager, is still only 21 and Russell is only a little older at 23.

Hamilton revealed the benefits of reflection and hindsight from his 14 seasons in the sport has helped him become an aide to the upcoming British drivers on the grid.

“It’s interesting to be further down the line and to be able to know when you look back on someone that’s quite a bit younger and see them go through something you went through a long, long time ago," added Russell.

“It only helps to say something positive to encourage them to keep pushing, keep your head up and keep fighting.”