Former F1 driver believes George Russell will “expose the chinks” in Lewis Hamilton’s armor in 2022

Former F1 driver Perry McCarthy suggests George Russell will try and take advantage of Lewis Hamilton's lack of momentum heading into the 2022 season. The former Andrea Moda driver claims Russell will be on the "attack" in 2022, trying his best to take the crown away from his teammate.

George Russell is set to be Mercedes' latest star, featuring side-by-side with Lewis Hamilton, who is statistically the greatest F1 driver of all time. The young Briton has had an extremely successful career at Williams, out-performing teammates Nicholas Latifi and Robert Kubica on most occasions.

McCarthy claims the youngster will pose a significant challenge to Hamilton, despite the latter's vast experience in the sport. He said:

“Your absolute best scenario, as a racing driver, is to join a team, where you’ve got an absolutely brilliant, established star. And then your job is to beat him, because suddenly, if you’ve just jumped in, and you’re beating the guy that holds pretty much every record going, then you’re looked at as being brilliant.”

McCarthy believes the seven-time world champion will be on the back-foot compared to Russell due to his painful loss to Max Verstappen on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Believing Russell will take advantage of Hamilton's current spirit in the new season, he said:

“I think he’s going to be tapping Lewis on the shoulder, I really do. And the other thing is, is that, you know, if Lewis has developed any chinks in his armor because he does feel a little bit low, then George will be prying those open, you know, he’s going to be on the attack.”

---

Nico Rosberg spoke about being Lewis Hamilton's teammate

Former world champion and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg claims Lewis Hamilton can "only lose" against a teammate like George Russell. Rosberg claims that if the youngster beats Hamilton, he will be praised for beating the seven-time world champion. Inversely, if the 37-year-old outperforms Russell, it will be attributed to the former Williams driver's lack of experience. Rosberg said:

“Well, the positive is you have nothing to lose and everything to gain because you’re against the best of all time. No one expects you to destroy him, but if you manage to, you’re like the absolute biggest hero of all time. So, for Lewis, he can only lose, actually. He’s the greatest, and then suddenly this young guy starts to beat him. That’s a really uncomfortable position to be in.”

With Lewis Hamilton's return reportedly contingent on the results of the ongoing FIA inquiry, fans can hope for an intense inter-Mercedes battle between the two Britons in 2022.