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Lewis Hamilton's teammate George Russell has been a revelation this season. He's fast, he's consistent, but most importantly, for someone who has not raced at the front throughout his career, George Russell has shown he's ready to fight for top honors at the front of the grid.
Russell is currently 4th in the standings at almost touching distance from Sergio Perez in 3rd and if we compare the form of both the drivers and the teams, George Russell might just be the favorite to take that position away from the Mexican by the end of the season.
The Mercedes driver has scored podiums, he has even scored his first ever pole position and by the time F1 hit the summer break, George Russell still held a 12-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the championship.
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While all of this is good news for Mercedes and George Russell as well, it might not be best for the aging legend that occupies the second seat at Mercedes.
George Russell's performance this season could just be the catalyst for Lewis Hamilton being pushed towards retirement when his contract expires at the end of the 2023 F1 season.
1) George Russell's performances will only get better
One thing that Mercedes would be encouraged by is the intrinsic speed shown by George Russell when you compare it to Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver did not demonstrate the lower ceiling that was evident when Valterri Bottas took over alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2017.
On the contrary, George Russell has been vastly impressive. Every time he has finished a race this season, it has been in the top five. To add to this, he compares very well against Lewis Hamilton as well.
Having said that, overall, if we have to compare the first half of the season, Lewis Hamilton should still be considered the fastest of the two drivers. Especially because of the way he has turned things around in the last five races.
George Russell is not too far away though and most importantly, this is just his first year in a Mercedes, a front-running juggernaut. He will only get stronger and better when he has a full season under his belt.
Looking at how competitive he is right now against Lewis Hamilton, it won't be a surprise if the youngster takes things up a notch next season as well.
Can we see George Russell matching and even beating Lewis Hamilton more regularly next season? Looking at the foundation that he has built, it certainly won't be a surprise.
2) Giving Lewis Hamilton that kind of money won't be justifiable
Lewis Hamilton is the highest-paid driver on the F1 grid, alongside Max Verstappen. The Mercedes driver is a 7-time world champion, and it's hard to argue that he should not command this kind of money. The driver has millions of followers all over the world, and all of them follow him almost religiously.
Having said that, the accolades and followers might add to the Market Value but it would not add to the lap time on the track. Even if Toto Wolff has a great relationship with Lewis Hamilton and wants to sign him for a few more years, how will he justify giving him the kind of money the F1 legend commands?
Especially if there is George Russell in the other cockpit, getting paid a fraction of what Lewis Hamilton gets and is still able to produce a similar level of performance.
If we jog our memory to the pre-2021 F1 season, even then, the previous contract negotiations went on for far too long between Hamilton and Mercedes. This time around, though, the team has a trump card in George Russell that it could use against Lewis Hamilton and might even opt not to extend the contract with him.
3) Mercedes could be giving birth to another Rosberg-Hamilton rivalry
Both Mercedes and Toto Wolff know the past very well. Hamilton was losing to Russell at the start of the season and is still keeping his cool because he was not fighting for race wins or anything meaningful.
If Mercedes was a frontrunner and Russell had racked up a 7-race win streak over Hamilton, we wouldn’t have looked at him being this cordial with the young driver.
Mercedes have made significant gains in the last few races. The team is starting to get better in terms of performance and is edging closer and closer to the front. While the stakes are high and both drivers will be fighting for the same track space, there is a risk of a repeat of what happened in the Rosberg-Hamilton rivalry.
That was arguably one of the reasons why Mercedes picked a friendlier face in Valtteri Bottas as Nico Rosberg's replacement. If Mercedes produces a competitive car next year and both Hamilton and Russell are fighting for wins every weekend, tensions are about to boil over.
At this stage, the team might have to choose between Hamilton and Russell. The latter is a legend of the sport but also someone who is closer to 40 years of age than 30.
On the other hand, George Russell is a promising young charger who has proven himself worthy by going up against one of the best talents on the grid and not losing out against him.
With Mercedes looking to part ways with Hamilton, it's hard to imagine him trying to knock on the door of any other team on the grid. In the end, the British driver could find himself in a situation where there would be no option for him but to retire from the sport.
