George Russell proposes 'over the top' reason for Lewis Hamilton Ferrari struggles

George Russell has proposed that Lewis Hamilton's struggles at Ferrari could be the result of the seven-time F1 champion trying too hard.

Russell served as Hamilton's team-mate for three seasons at Mercedes, and replaced the elder Briton as Mercedes team leader after the 40-year-old defected to Ferrari at the start of this year.

Aside from a Sprint pole and win in China, Hamilton has largely struggled at Ferrari, and was particularly downbeat after the Spanish GP, in which he was sixth. 

Hamilton is yet to register a grand prix podium for Ferrari, taking a best result of fourth at Imola, leaving Russell to propose an idea that Hamilton could be overdoing it in trying to replicate his Mercedes form. 

"I think when you are a seven-time world champion, anything less than victory is a failure," Russell told the media, including RacingNews365. 

"You're probably pushing yourself and your team over the top to achieve beyond the potential, to try and achieve these great results, and it is potentially counterproductive. 

"What I saw last year is that when he was on his A-game, he was a real competitor to me, and he was driving amazingly, we saw it at Silverstone last year, we saw it in China this year.

"For all of us, unless you are in the orange car at the moment, the chance of victory is slim, and for all of us, it is frustrating. 

"It is frustrating for me, it is frustrating for Charles [Leclerc], he is such a great driver and hasn't had a shot at the championship since 2022, but that's the nature of this sport."