Russell feels Hamilton ‘saved’ F1 career due to Mercedes blame saga

Hamilton opens up on plans to remain in F1 ahead of 2023 season

George Russell has claimed Lewis Hamilton “saved” his F1 career over fears he would take the blame for Mercedes’ downfall. The former Williams star feels he would have taken responsibility for the team’s “step backwards” under the new regulations.

The Silver Arrows have been off the pace since the start of 2022 and have been unable to fight at the front. It came just months after rumours speculated that Hamilton was ready to walk away after losing out on the 2021 crown.

However, Russell has now accepted he needed Hamilton to stick around to prove the lack of performance was not down to him. He told Speed Week: “In a way, having him as a teammate saved me.

“If he had left Mercedes or the sport when I joined the team, I would have been blamed for the step backwards the team made. But I think that I’ve now proved what I’m worth and what I can do, so there’s no pressure in that regard.”

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Russell enjoyed a breakthrough season at the German marque as he beat Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship over the course of the season. It meant the Mercedes youngster became just the third team-mate to beat Hamilton in the standings after Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg.

The 25-year-old also picked up his first career win and the team’s only victory of the campaign in Sao Paulo. Russell has enjoyed an impressive start to 2023 with the Briton outqualifying Hamilton at all three races so far this season.

He is behind in the standings but this is partly down to mechanical failures suffered at the Australian Grand Prix. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff attempted to play down Russell’s success last season as he described the achievement as “irrelevant”.

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The Austrian explained he made the remarks because neither driver was racing for a world championship. However, Russell remained humble as he accepted he was focussed on turning round the pair’s fortunes for the good of the team.

He added: “I’m there to do my job as well as possible and I think I’m in a very good position. So I don’t worry about statistics or whether I’m on Lewis’ pace or whatever, because I feel like I’ve already proved that over the past year.”

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