After three seasons training as a Formula 1 driver at the Williams team, George Russell will replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes in 2022, thus becoming the new partner of a Lewis Hamilton who will start the course hungrier than ever after being defeated by Max Verstappen at the end of 2021.
This movement has caused different opinions in recent months: some believe that Russell will be able to put the seven-time champion on the ropes, but there are also those who think the opposite, ensuring that the young Briton will not have many chances against Hamilton .
In a recent interview with the British edition of The Sun , Bottas , who after leaving Mercedes signed for Alfa Romeo, also wanted to comment on the matter and pointed out that he still does not really believe in George. In his opinion, it will be almost impossible to beat Hamilton now.
“I don’t see anyone who can beat Lewis in the near future behind the wheel of a car like his,” Bottas said. “George will be able to adapt well to the team as he has been a Mercedes driver for a number of years. But beating Lewis is not easy – I experienced it myself.”
“His consistency throughout the campaign is practically impossible to match. For example, even when he has a bad day, it doesn’t mean he will make a mistake. His average level of performance is always very high, in all situations,” he added. Finnish pilot.
“Another of Lewis’s key characteristics is his ability to adapt to different conditions, whether it’s a change in car set-up or the weather. His ability to manage tires is also a special skill that, like others, They are very much embedded in his talent.”
“I can be proud that at one point I was able to beat Lewis. But it wasn’t enough to take the win at the end of the season,” he concluded.
During his five seasons at Mercedes, Bottas managed to overtake Hamilton on a few occasions, but he was never able to win the general classification or reach the last race with a chance of fighting for the drivers’ title. In fact, he was quite far from it, as an example of this, in 2017 and 2021 he finished third in the world championship, while in 2018 he could not go beyond fifth place overall, also being surpassed by drivers from rival teams.
With the arrival of George Russell , it is expected that Hamilton will have a rival who can give him a battle in each and every event. In fact, Lewis himself seems to be working so that the Briton is the one to take over from him in the highest category of motorsport, helping him in every way possible in the face of his first season of maximum demand with Mercedes in F1.
