Hamilton "not humiliated" by Russell defeats
Hamilton "not humiliated" by Russell defeats
Former F1 world champion Damon Hill believes Lewis Hamilton has not been humiliated by his Mercedes team-mate Geroge Russell despite a 21-point margin in the drivers' standings.
Mercedes has endured a torrid start to the F1 season with seven-time champion Hamilton suffering the brunt of the struggles so far.
After scoring a surprise podium at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, a result achieved after both Red Bull drivers retired in the closing laps, Hamilton finished 10th in Saudi Arabia and was left asking if the position yielded any championship points.
Retirements for Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz in Australia helped Hamilton to fourth in Australia but this result was followed again by disappointment, the Mercedes driver only 13th at Imola.
Although Russell has benefitted from the same retirements to elevate himself and has equally scored one podium, the former Williams driver has finished ahead of Hamilton at the last three races and is the only man to have a perfect top-five record.
However, Hill told the F1 Nation Podcast he does not believe the points table paints an accurate picture of the difference in the two driver's performances.
“George has done an absolutely brilliant job and is looking strong," said Hill.
"I think Lewis has been a little unlucky, has been delving around and has been happy to play the guy who tries the experimental set up for Mercedes a bit because he has got more experience with them.
“So, perhaps he has gone the wrong way sometimes and that has made him look worse off than he is against George.
“But George is definitely doing a sterling job and I think that is a very firm foundation for him going forward.
“He has not humiliated Lewis in any way I don’t think, I don’t see it like that."
Russell "keen to establish himself" at Mercedes
In motorsport, a driver is only ever as good as their last race and in F1, this means there is very little time for a driver to establish themself at a new team before judgements are cast on their abilities.
"George is very keen to establish himself and he has to, let’s be honest," added Hill.
"The way this game is played, if you have been brought into a team and you don’t show your credentials pretty damn quick, then people start to go ‘not good’.
"They don’t waste any time before they start putting the dampers on someone, so he has done a good job but whether he can keep that up all season, if Lewis finds what he needs from the car, we shall see."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Miami Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today
- 46 minutes ago
Former F1 champion in surprise take over safety improvements
- 54 minutes ago
F1 set for stunning 2026 RETURN to shock track
- 1 hour ago
Jos Verstappen fears Newey exit will trigger Red Bull collapse
- 2 hours ago
- 1
FIA announce Mercedes singled out for F1 inspection ahead of Miami Grand Prix
- 3 hours ago
Vettel to make F1 RETURN in tribute to legend
- Today 09:12
Related news
Hamilton and Wolff centre stage as F1 shuts down New York for new emoji launch
F1 wonderkid in Imola TEST amid driver replacement reports
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860