Russell: “From Hamilton I learned the ability to keep team morale high in difficult times”

Russell schooled by Hamilton Between 2022 and 2024 George Russell and Lewis Hamilton shared the Mercedes garage in two very different phases of their respective careers, given that the former had not yet won a grand prix and the latter was already a seven-time Formula 1 world champion.
In an interview with Maxim magazine, George Russell talked about his arrival in such a prestigious team: “When I arrived at Mercedes I had three years of experience in F1, but I was new to the team and therefore I wanted to use my ears more than my mouth. That is, I wanted to absorb as much information as possible and observe how Lewis managed the job. And over time I gained more confidence in myself and the team started to listen to me.” Lewis’ example Particularly interesting is Russell’s account of what he learned from sharing the garage with Hamilton: “I think the most important thing I learned from him was the way he kept team morale high in times of difficulty. He was a real leader within the team and was a hard worker. He was the first to arrive and the last to leave and he set the bar for everyone else in the team,” admitted the Englishman. And when Hamilton chose to go to Ferrari, the captaincy fell to Russell: “Now we are in a process of rebuilding the team to return to winning. I have learned that the job of a driver is much more than guiding development with our feedback and the sensations we feel in the car. In fact, we have to raise the morale of the team in difficult moments and encourage the 2500 people who work for the team. If he manages to involve everyone in pushing in the same direction, you will only have a benefit.”