Lewis Hamilton told George Russell won’t play Valtteri Bottas role in warning from Horner

Lewis Hamilton refuses to let controversial end to 2021 season ‘define’ his career

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned Lewis Hamilton to expect a much closer battle at Mercedes with George Russell now by his side. Hamilton has got a new team-mate at Mercedes this year for the first time since Valtteri Bottas replaced Nico Rosberg in 2017.

The Finnish driver struggled to keep pace with Hamilton on track, although he did play his part in Mercedes continuing their dominance in the Constructors’ Championship.

Now Russell has taken his seat at Mercedes with the young Brit eager to prove himself.

F1 fans got a glimpse of what Russell could do in a Mercedes when he stepped in for Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.

But how he will fair against Hamilton in the same car remains to be seen.

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At Williams, Russell built a reputation as ‘Mr Saturday’ for his impeccable record in outqualifying his team-mate.

And there is plenty of excitement on what he could achieve at Mercedes given the right tools.

Red Bull will be hoping they can use Max Verstappen’s title triumph last year to give them a leg up on their rivals.

But Horner believes Mercedes will be a much stronger prospect on race weekends with Russell replacing Bottas.

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“It’s the first time Mercedes have been beaten in seven years, that’s going to have hurt,” he told The Sun.

“I’m sure they will come out all guns blazing at the start of this year.

“George is a really talented guy, he’s very quick and I don’t think he will be a subservient second driver. He will get stuck in.

“It’s great that we have so much talent in the sport with Verstappen, Russell, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and, of course, Hamilton still at the top of his game.”

But Bottas has rubbished any suggestion that Russell will come in and knock Hamilton off his perch.

“I don’t see anyone else beating Lewis in the near future in the same machinery,” he said.

“George will adjust well because he has been with Mercedes for some years.

“But beating Lewis is not easy. I have experienced that. It is his consistency in his performances. Every driver has form that is a little bit up and down, but his baseline for performance is just so high.”

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