(Motorsport) Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is currently two points ahead of George Russell in the Drivers Standings after two races but his teammate and rival finished ahead of the 38 year old in his maiden season at Mercedes. While the Silver Arrows don’t look likely to compete against Red Bull Racing anytime soon, there could be the beginning of a new rivalry between the two Mercedes drivers in the twilight of Hamilton’s career despite the fact that the W14 continues to struggle.
Speaking about Hamilton and Russell’s rivalry, former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg said “Testament to the weekend George has done. Interesting that there are different set ups, but free choice for both of them. For Lewis, it was a nice comeback today and it gives him some comfort after a dark day yesterday (Saturday). George is the ultimate test, he is a future world champion. It is difficult for Lewis to stay in front.
“George had an awesome season last year and that is continuing. Let’s not forget, Lewis is the best of all time, so if someone can beat George it is him. It is a little bit of a weakness that Lewis has that he will mentally go into this down a little bit and lose a little bit of the flow but he comes back with a bang every single time so, dear George, don’t get too confident there.”
Finishing behind Russell in Saudi Arabia, Hamilton blamed the set up for the difference in speed between himself and his teammate. He said “We got some great points for the team, George got third and he did amazing. I went forwards so I’m really grateful to have come from seventh to fifth. The strategy didn’t really work out for me, the set up was a little bit off – if I had the set up George had, I would have been in a better position.
“But yeah, lots to work on but there are positives to take away from it. On set up, there was a 50/50 choice, I chose one way and he chose the other, and more often than not, the way he went was the wrong one but it just happened to work. I could only match his pace rather than be quicker this weekend but I’ll work hard to make sure we’re in a better position next weekend.”
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