George Russell has claimed his record against Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes could have delivered him two Formula 1 titles had he been with the team in an earlier era.
Having spent three seasons mired towards the back in an uncompetitive Williams, Russell was handed his long-awaited promotion to a works Mercedes seat in 2022.
Russell returned to a Mercedes that had won an unmatched eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships, during which time Hamilton had added six Drivers’ titles.
However, the German marque hasn’t been in contention to attain the ultimate prize since coming unstuck with a comprehensive revamp to the technical rules in 2022.
Russell, though, still managed to impress as he achieved Mercedes’ sole win that season in Brazil en route to outscoring his more experienced compatriot 275 to 240.
And while Hamilton had the upper hand during a winless 2023, Russell rebounded last season to close out their last campaign as team-mates ahead in the standings.
The Briton highlighted that eclipsing Hamilton on two occasions would have pocketed him at least one championship had it coincided with Mercedes’ dominant spell.
“Everybody is in Lewis’s shadow, being team-mates with a seven-time World Champion for three years is not straightforward,” Russell told The Athletic.
“There was once a time that if you finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a championship or in a race, you’d win the race.
“Or, if you finish ahead of the championship, you’d win the championship.
“If my time was five years prior, you could argue I’d have two championships to my name.”
Russell’s approach unchanged amid Hamilton departure
Russell, who is poised to sign a contract renewal with Mercedes, has insisted that his approach has remained unchanged irrespective of who is placed alongside him.
“I’m just going about my business, as I have been the last couple of years,” he continued.
“I’m working with the same group of engineers, the same group of mechanics. Obviously, Lewis was such a large presence that you know that he’s not around.
“But on the day-to-day running of things, it is no different, I’m sat at my desk in front of my computer.
“I do my warm-up in my room, I jump in my race car, I put my helmet on. I want to control my own destiny first and foremost.”
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