Lewis Hamilton is currently experiencing the worst season start of his career at Ferrari. The British driver has not finished on the podium in the first ten Grand Prix, a record for the seven-time world champion. Former teammate George Russell has an idea why Hamilton is struggling to settle in at Ferrari. “Anything less than a victory probably feels like a failure,” explains the Mercedes driver.
George Russell was Lewis Hamilton’s teammate for three seasons from 2022 to 2024, until the world champion decided to move to Ferrari. So far, Hamilton’s choice for the Scuderia has not fully paid off. The Brit is still waiting for his first podium finish in a main race. Why can’t Hamilton find his groove at Ferrari? Russell dares to provide an explanation.
“I think that when you’re a seven-time world champion, anything less than a victory feels like a failure,” Russell explains to the media. “You’re probably pushing yourself and your team more than a hundred percent to achieve more than is possible, to try to achieve these great results, but it can actually be counterproductive.”
Russell previously indicated that he fully expects to see Hamilton’s ‘magic’ again, as he still delivered good races even during his disappointing final years at Mercedes. “What I saw last year is that when he was at his best, he was a real competitor for me,” Russell continues. “Lewis then drove superbly. We saw that last year in Silverstone, and this year in China.” Hamilton claimed his 104th Grand Prix victory during the past British GP, while this season in China, he crossed the finish line first during the sprint race.
‘Frustrating’
According to his former teammate, the disappointing results at Ferrari are not entirely Hamilton’s fault. “For all of us, the chance of winning is small, unless you are currently in the papaya car,” Russell explains about the current McLaren dominance. “It’s frustrating for all of us. It’s frustrating for me, it’s frustrating for Charles Leclerc, he’s such a great driver and hasn’t had a chance at the championship since 2022. That’s just the nature of this sport.”
