George Russell opens up about his relationship with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton

In a recent interview, Mercedes driver George Russell claimed there was no leader between him and Lewis Hamilton. Russell bagged the team's sole win during the 2022 season and impressed audiences with his consistency. He has also proven that a skillful driver with a solid car can deliver excellent results.

During several 2022 races, George Russell outscored and outperformed Hamilton. He also looked more comfortable in the driver standings at the end of the year. It was a remarkable shift from languishing with Williams at the back of the grid. Even then, audiences could tell Russell was pushing a subpar car to its limits.

Given the recent bump in his standing, the F1 community has been abuzz with the debate of Hamilton v Russell - who is the team's undisputed leader? However, George Russell recently tried to quash the debate by stating that both drivers are on equal footing. Although diplomatic, his response puts him on par with a seven-time world champion.

Speaking to AMuS, George Russell said:

"Lewis and I have a good relationship. If you look at the past, he has had teammates with a more similar age and they have fought for that leadership position, but between us, there is no leader. Lewis is at a more advanced part of his career and I'm at the beginning of mine, he's had all the success, he has nothing more to prove. We are helping each other, trying to improve the car, we want to take Mercedes back to the top."

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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell make the best pair on the grid - Toto Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is pleased with the lineup going into 2023. The duo was fairly consistent in 2022 and kept the team in the limelight even though they rarely achieved wins.

Although Hamilton struggled with the car during the early half of the 2022 season, momentum picked up in later races. Even though he couldn't register multiple wins, there was plenty of fight on display. Hamilton's efforts on the grid were undeniable. His successes and failures were clearly on display. However, Mercedes also lacked in pit strategy and failed to adapt to the new regulations quickly.

George Russell had a remarkable season with a massive jump from Williams. Arguably, he was the only driver to make a dramatic jump from the back of the grid to the front. Expectations from him are sky-high following a commendable performance. Mercedes look solid with this new lineup.

Speaking with GPFans, Wolff said of the two drivers:

"George is always very self-critical, which is one of the assets that make him a future world champion. He has been thrown now into the Mercedes works team, we keep developing the car, and if you ask me now, the final results look different."

He opened up further on the chemistry between the drivers by saying:

"Like at the beginning of the year, you could say George was doing very well, and then in the last third of the year, it was Lewis. But in terms of optimum performance, we have the combination of the two best drivers, the strongest line-up."

2023 is expected to be a breakout season for Mercedes. The team has likely gathered a lot of data from their losing year and will be expected to convert it into wins. Moreover, all eyes are set on both drivers as they have different things to prove to the world.