Lewis Hamilton has praised George Russell's recent performances, and has called his teammate's ascent to P2 in the Drivers' standings "incredible." Both Mercedes drivers have scored points in every round of the 2022 F1 season so far, despite the team's struggles with their car. However, it is Russell who has finished ahead at the last two races, and the Briton secured his first podium with the Silver Arrows at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. Hamilton ended the day in fourth, having been unable to challenge for position due to his W13 overheating.
Hamilton hails Russell for doing an "amazing" job
Russell's consistent run of points-scoring finishes has resulted in him sitting second in the World Championship rankings, though there is still a sizeable gap of 34 points to leader Charles Leclerc. Hamilton, meanwhile, is in fifth, one spot ahead of former title rival Max Verstappen. When asked how pleased he was to see Russell taking P2 in the Drivers' standings following his podium in Melbourne, Hamilton told media including RacingNews365.com : "It's incredible. "He's done an amazing job. He did an amazing job [in the Australian Grand Prix], had great pace. "He's been so solid these first three races, and he's working and really grafting away. He's doing an amazing job."
More performance needed from Mercedes
Both Hamilton and Russell have been open about the fact that Mercedes still have some work to do to fix their car issues, despite their solid result in Australia. Hamilton says that the team will continue to do all they can to extract more performance as soon as possible. "There's performance to be gained in areas that we know," the British driver said. "And we need it now. Not in two or three races, as we all know, as a team. But yeah, [we've] just got to keep that encouragement. Keep that energy high."
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