George Russell struggles to beat Lewis Hamilton in 2023 season
George Russell transferred to Mercedes last season to replace Valtteri Bottas and immediately challenged teammate Lewis Hamilton. Russell was the fastest adapter to the ripple W13, leading Hamilton by 35 points in the standings. He got his team's only victory of the season with the first place he achieved in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
In the 2023 season, however, the situation was reversed, with Russell finishing only three races ahead of his teammates [Saudi Arabia, Miami and Austria]. Currently, Russell is 49 points behind seven-time World Champion Hamilton.
It was the same at the Belgian Grand Prix, with Hamilton ahead of Russell in both qualifying sessions, the sprint race and the race.
Former Ferrari and Williams team manager Marc Priestley said Russell was nothing like Russell, who was 'troubling' his teammate in 2022. “George had a big moment on the downhill right corner after Les Combes [at the Spa] and went off track,” Priestley wrote in a YouTube post. said. “Everything was great on the radio and everything was classic George, but this certainly isn't like the George in 2022 that gave Lewis a lot of trouble.” said. “So Lewis must be feeling more confident now.” said.
While Hamilton is more confident in his team-mate fight, Mercedes continues to go back and forth in terms of performance.
Although they beat Aston Martin to second place in the Constructors' Championship and widened the gap to 40 points, McLaren has been seen to be prominent in the last races.
For Mercedes' season, Priestley said: "For every step forward, they seem to be taking two steps back and McLaren is in a very good position, especially now." said.
