Lewis Hamilton and George Russell

Russell’s reveals the 'secret' to outperforming Hamilton during time at Mercedes

16:37, 19 Aug

Updated: 18:39, 19 Aug

bySamson Ero

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were teammates at Mercedes between 2022 and 2024. The 27-year-old got the better of his former Mercedes teammate in two of the three seasons they raced together. Russell has recently hinted at the ‘help’ he received that ensured he was able to outperform the seven-time World Champion.

The Mercedes driver, who has now taken over as lead driver at the Brackley-based outfit, explained how he needed the help of his psychologist to get the better of the current Ferrari driver. Speaking on the UnTapped podcast, Russell stressed how he relied on the approach recommended to him, which helped him outperform Hamilton throughout their stint as teammates.

“So I was thinking about how I'm going to deal with this psychologically. Until one day, I had a really good conversation with my psychologist about it—about how I should deal with the pressure of being his teammate—and I concluded that when I walk into the garage, I'm jumping into my race car, I'm putting my helmet on, I've put my visor down, it should not matter if my teammate in the garage next door is a seven-time World Champion, a rookie, or if there's nobody there, because I'm in control of my own destiny. That’s the approach I have—it's on me to perform.”

The approach clearly worked for Russell, as he finished ahead of Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship on two occasions (2022 and 2024).

George Russell’s future at Mercedes

While Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has recently stated that George Russell and current teammate Kimi Antonelli will continue driving for the German outfit in 2026, uncertainty lingers around the length of contract Russell will be given—especially considering Max Verstappen could be available at the end of the 2026 season.

Although Russell himself has continued to express optimism about his long-term future with the Brackley team, he was recently advised by former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya to explore an exit from the outfit if the situation becomes less favourable.