Hamilton on Russell: 'It would be different if we were fighting for first'

A year ago, Lewis Hamilton was competing for his eighth world title. This season, sixth place in the championship seems to be the maximum for him. Moreover, his teammate George Russell has collected more points and is fourth in the title race.

It was an unusual year for Mercedes. For years it was the team to beat, but already during testing Hamilton noticed that the new car was not as fast as expected. Speaking to Auto, Motor und Sport he says he briefly had hopes that with some adjustments all problems would disappear. The biggest problem - it is known - was porpoising. Before the bouncing of the car was a solved, the season was well under way. As a result, there was no chance of a championship anymore.

'Great work'

Russell seemed to have learned how to drive the difficult Mercedes much faster. According to Hamilton, Russell scored more points because he experimented less with the car. All in all, Hamilton praised his teammate for doing a great job this season. And that Russell is likely to finish above Hamilton in the final standings? The experienced Briton seems to shrug it off.

"Hopefully next year, when we have a better car, we can focus on getting the most out of the car instead of messing around with crazy set-ups. Then it will be a fairer duel. If he finishes ahead of me in the world championship this year, I won't mind. We are going for fifth and sixth place. It would be a different story if it was for first and second place."