George Russell believes that neither he nor Lewis Hamilton is trying to establish dominance over each other at Mercedes, which is why their partnership has flourished thus far.
Russell signed for Mercedes last year after three impressive seasons at Williams, during which he deputised for an ill Hamilton and almost won in Bahrain just over two years ago.
Faced with a troublesome 2022 car, the British pairing eventually finished the season with a combined 17 podiums as the German side pushed Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ standings.
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The highlight at the end of such a tough campaign will undoubtedly have been the one-two in Brazil, which also happened to be Russell’s first victory in Formula 1. It was the culmination of a collaborative effort from the 24-year-old and his seven-time world champion team-mate.
Mercedes had previously gone through a stressful three years as Hamilton and Nico Rosberg brutally battled for the drivers’ title, but its current driver line-up puts an emphasis on teamwork.
“Lewis and I, it worked because we know that we can take the team further together than against each other,” Russell told Auto Motor und Sport.
“If there were problems with driver pairings in the past, it was perhaps also because the age difference was smaller and because of the supremacy in the team was fought. We don’t have that.”
Russell is confident that the Brackley-based side has improved on last year as F1 heads into the second year under the revised technical regulations, but where that will leave him and Hamilton relative to their rivals remains to be seen.
“We know that we are building a car that will be faster than last year’s car,” he added. “I’m also sure that we will improve compared to last year. But we don’t know what everyone else did. And that’s the problem. It’s a relative game.”
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