David Coulthard has thrown his hat into the ring regarding theLewis Hamilton versus George Russell battle at the Mercedes Formula 1 team. Many fans are comparing the two drivers, especially as Russellappears to have the upper hand over Hamilton in terms of both qualifying andrace results. However, while he believes that Russell is a future WorldChampion, he is still undecided on who is the better of the two. According to the Scotsman, while the car is not performing atits best, there is no way to compare the two drivers and any such comparisoncan not really be made until they are competitive again.
Coulthard: It's two different mindsets, two different phases of their careers
As he explained to media including RacingNews365.com, Russell and Hamilton are in two differentmindsets and at different stages of their careers. "I think George is a future world champion. I think he's afantastic driver. and I think he's earned that place in the team. But we won'ttruly know how he compares to Lewis until they have a winning car again,because right now, this is the best car that George has ever driven, relativeto where the fastest car is, and this is not the best car that Lewis has driven,"he said. "It's two different mindsets, two different phases of theircareers. And that's why right now you go, ‘Oh, George's outperforming Lewis’.Well, let's wait and see when they qualify first and second in whatever order ithappens to be just how the running order is then."
The edge that exceptional drivers have
He explained the situation in a lot finer detail and howexceptional drivers, like the ones listed above, are capable of getting morefrom a faster car while everyone can get similar results from an average pacedcar. "I think in my mind's eye, and it remains to be seen, as in whenMercedes delivers a World Championship car again, but the exceptional drivers[like] your Lewis', your Maxs, go back in time, your Schumachers,your Hakkinens, and the like, when the faster the car is, the more difficult itis to drive," Coulthard explained. "That may seem counterintuitive if you've not done anything morethan a better car thing, but they all have the same tyres. So, if you're inwhatever the slowest car is, and Montreal was a bad example, because theFerrari was on the back row, but it's normally that a Williams or a Haasor whoever it happens to be at the moment, you'd think, 'Oh, it must be reallydifficult because it's not as quick'. "Actually, the further you were away from the peak ofdownforce, then everything just isn't running as close to its limit, so thetyres aren't running as close to the limit. So, what tends to happen is when youhave a really fast car, exceptional drivers get more out of it. And when youhave an average car, it becomes easier for everyone to get something out of itbecause it's an average car." Watch the fourth race of the 2022 W Series season live from Silverstone on Sky Sports and Channel 4 on Saturday 2 July.
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