"If you’ve got Lewis, you don’t actually need George": F1 pundit questions the Lewis Hamilton-George Russell lineup at Mercedes

F1 pundit Peter Windsor feels Mercedes needs either Lewis Hamilton or George Russell, but not both at the same time. Although both the British drivers are eager to perform well and push the team and themselves forward, this exact determination from the two is what Windsor feels is bad for Mercedes.

Windsor explained how a team only needs one of the two drivers since the likes of Russell and Hamilton being on the same side creates an imbalance.

“I just come back to my thing of… if you’ve got Lewis, you don’t actually need George. If you’ve got George, you don’t need Lewis. It’s an imbalanced team, always has been, always will be, and that is the problem with it,” he said on his YouTube channel.

Windsor proceeded to provide the example of Red Bull's driver lineup of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. He stated how Red Bull has struck a balance as Perez is not performing as brilliantly as Verstappen but the Mexican driver is still able to pick up important points and podiums for the team.

Windsor further said how Valtteri Bottas was great for Mercedes since he never seriously challenged Lewis Hamilton but still worked hard for the team as a whole.

“If you’ve got Max, you don’t need a George in the other car, you need a Perez,” he said. “That’s why Red Bull is so good, one of the reasons they are so good. You don’t necessarily need anybody better than Perez because Max is there. It’s the same, we’ve got Lewis, so you don’t need a George – you need a Valtteri. And that’s the problem."

It is clear that both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell would want to clinch a world championship if and when Mercedes develops a winning car. This could cause problems as both could fight extremely hard for the title, ultimately hurting the team's cause.

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Lewis Hamilton takes a subtle dig at George Russell for being far behind in the drivers' championship standings

During the 2023 F1 Japanese GP, George Russell prevented Lewis Hamilton from passing, despite it being team orders.

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz was already closing in on Hamilton, causing both Mercedes drivers problems. After a few laps, Russell gave the position to Hamilton.

After the race, the seven-time world champion stated that his main focus was to beat Ferrari and score as many points for his team as possible.

Furthermore, Lewis Hamilton stated that George Russell and he are not fighting for positions in the drivers' championship; firstly because they are not close to each other and secondly as the two are not fighting for the top spot.

"We are not fighting for drivers' positions in the championship. Because, firstly we are not close, and secondly we are not fighting for the [drivers' championship's top spot]. So, now it's about just getting the maximum points for the team, and I think that's what we did there," Hamilton insisted.

While Lewis Hamilton finished fifth at Suzuka, George Russell ended up in seventh.