Russell beats Hamilton (again): Is an era over?

It took until November for Mercedes to finally celebrate that first, coveted victory of the season. Not Lewis Hamilton, but his young teammate George Russell ran away with the win in Brazil. Russell, moreover, is ahead of the seven-time world champion in the championship standings. It begs the question: is the Hamilton era over?

The congratulations were heartfelt. As Russell tearfully completed the exit lap, Hamilton spoke over the board radio about a "great result for the team" and warmly congratulated Russell. There was not a shred of cynicism involved, although Hamilton would have loved to be back on the top step of the podium himself. The record champion realised he had been fairly beaten by Russell, who took an extremely convincing victory.

Outclassed?

Only in Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi of all places) will Hamilton have the opportunity to win after all. If he misses out on victory, it will be the first time in his Formula 1 career that Hamilton ends a season without a win. Looking purely at the aforementioned statistics, it is obvious to think that Hamilton - now 37 years old - has thus been surpassed by his compatriot.

Anyone who dives deeper into the numbers will see that this is not so bad. Hamilton seems to have lost little of his speed, especially during qualifying. The qualifying duel between them is in Hamilton's favour (12-9). Moreover, up to and including Mexico, Hamilton was on average faster than Russell in that, although barely 0.039 of a second (counted only on dry tracks and thus equal conditions). So the fact that Russell went around two tenths faster than Hamilton at Interlagos was a bit striking.

A match for each other

Russell finished ahead of Hamilton 10 times at Grands Prix, while the latter beat his teammate nine times (not counting dropouts). So again, the two are barely outdistancing each other. In short, Hamilton and Russell are very evenly matched in a car that got better and better during the year. The car seems to suit Hamilton more and more, who had more trouble adjusting to porpoising at the beginning of the season than his teammate had.

Besides, let's be honest: had it not rained during Q3 last Friday, Russell would almost certainly not have won the Grand Prix. Stupidly, he parked his Mercedes in the gravel during the all-important qualifying session, forcing a red flag. Salvaging his car meant that precious, dry minutes were lost. The moment it was possible to drive again, water fell from the sky. Without rain, almost certainly the necessary competitors would have passed Russell in the remaining time. Now they were hopeless.

Indication

From the third starting spot, Russell won the sprint race, to start the Grand Prix from first place a day later. Directly behind him was Hamilton, who dropped back several places in the early stages of the race after colliding with Max Verstappen. The former champion then had to work his way through the field, back to spot two. His displayed speed and the time he lost fighting back are a nice indication that Hamilton could well have beaten Russell if not for bad luck.

If. It doesn't count in sport. What matters are the facts. The fact is that Hamilton came second and Russell won. No doubt that first win took a load off his shoulders. But George Russell is George Russell. A good driver. A top driver perhaps. Only, he is not an exceptional talent like Hamilton. Look at Fernando Alonso, another great driver. The Spaniard is now 41 and regularly shows that those extraordinary skills are never lost. No doubt the same applies to Hamilton.

Good times

If Mercedes manages to put a car on the grid next season that can compete with Red Bull, a good time awaits fans. Especially after a disastrous year like the current one, Hamilton will want to prove he has not been written off. Anyway, he can always fall back on his experience and his talent. George Russell will undoubtedly have a tough job keeping Hamilton structurally behind him in a competitive car.