“Don’t steal my teammate” - Hilarious George Russell comment on Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton interaction resurfaces

George Russell's hilarious reaction to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton's interaction from last year has resurfaced on social media.

After Hamilton's move to Ferrari in 2025 was confirmed, many have revisited past instances when he was heavily linked with the Italian team. One of the more recent ones was in May 2023, when rumors were flying around that Ferrari offered him a seat.

During a press conference at the 2023 F1 Monaco GP, Charles Leclerc was asked about the rumors of a new teammate. Even though presenter Tom Clarkson did not mention Hamilton, Leclerc hilariously turned to the Mercedes driver and laughed. He simply said:

"Hello, Lewis."

The moment was so hilarious that F1 posted it on their official Instagram account. George Russell joined in on the joke in the comments section. He humorously urged Leclerc not to steal his teammate.

"Don't steal my teammate bro!!," Russell wrote.

At the time, the entire interaction was in jest. However, it aged extremely well as Lewis Hamilton has now decided to join Ferrari in 2025 to line up alongside Charles Leclerc.

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George Russell aiming to surpass Lewis Hamilton

George Russell is dead set on overtaking Lewis Hamilton in terms of performance.

In an interview with The Telegraph in November 2023, he initially said that he has been on Hamilton's level throughout the 2023 F1 season, but was not satisfied with just matching his level. However, he was also well aware that he was going up against a legendary driver and had to be realistic.

"I’ve been on Lewis’ level, on average, throughout this year. And I’m not satisfied with just being on his level. I want to be ahead of him. But I’ve also got to be realistic. I’m going up against the greatest driver of all time," Russell said.

"He’s definitely not a bad benchmark. And, you know, I think qualy statistics, if you include sprint races, we’re exactly the same. And pace-wise, we’re generally the same as well."

In Russell's first season with Mercedes, he bagged a race win and scored more points than Hamilton over the course of the season. However, in 2023, neither won a race and the latter outscored him overall.