Lewis Hamilton is not concerned about the possibility of his relationship with George Russell being negatively affected should Mercedes have a stronger car going forwards. Russell completed his first full season with the team in 2022 following three years at Williams, but it proved to be a tough campaign for the Silver Arrows, with the W13 struggling with issues including porpoising. As such, Hamilton and Russell were not able to regularly battle at the front of the pack, though they secured a number of podiums between them as well as Russell leading a 1-2 result at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team's sole Grand Prix win of the season. Hamilton has been impressed by how his new teammate has fitted in at Mercedes, with the younger Briton having first became a part of the outfit back in 2017 as a member of the Young Driver Programme.
Hamilton: It's impressive what Russell has done
"I've seen what he did at Williams," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.com . "I think, naturally, you have to say it's impressive what he's done this year; the consistency he's had, how he's arrived and just hit the ground running. "It's not like he arrived in a completely brand new team. He was [in] the previous couple years sitting right behind me, watching the work that I was doing with the engineers, with Riki [Riccardo Musconi], who's now his number one [race engineer]. "So it's been super easy [for him] to blend in. He uses my steering wheel, and he's obviously got to do the test days prior over the years. I think he's just blended in perfectly."
Hamilton confident challenges 'won't be a problem'
Hamilton believes that his good relationship with Russell has benefitted the team, and he does not expect this to change should the scenario arise of Mercedes having a more competitive car. "He's been a positive force in the team," Hamilton explained. "[He has] helped keep the equilibrium, I think, in the team in terms of working relationship [which] I think is strong. "I'm a lot older and I've been with the team for so long, so managing whatever challenges we come up with moving forwards, we've been through so much that I don't think it's going to be a problem."
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