Hamilton And Russell 'Trust One Another' Amid Tense Battles On-Track

Monday, 01 January 2024 at 07:00

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George Russell and Lewis Hamilton met on track a few times during the 2023 season in quite intense battles, but Russell said he and the seven-time World Champion "trust one another."

While Mercedes drivers didn't really have a chance to compete for race wins during the 2023 season. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton provided fans with quite a few exciting battles on the edge.

Sometimes, it even looked as if the two teammates might crash, for example, during the Japanese Grand Prix. Once, the two drivers even collided, which resulted in DNF for Hamilton and messed up Russell's race in Qatar.

Asked about their comings together with the seven-time World Champion, the 25-year-old told motorsport.com he believes it normal for drivers in their situation.

"I think it’s normal when you’re so close in performance, when you’re lapping at the same lap times or you’re starting next to one another on the grid - you’re always going to be close."

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The two Mercedes drivers had quite a similar pace, and even though they were often on different strategies, they would meet on the track numerous times.

"The pace difference between the two of us is zero. We’re always going to be going across a 24-race season, an average of 60 laps per race, we cross paths a lot, and he’s the driver I cross paths with the most. So, I think that’s probably what we put it down to."

One of the most important rules for F1 drivers is to not crash into their teammates which already happened to Hamilton in the past during the 2016 season.

On the other hand, Russell asserted the two Mercedes drivers trust one another when it comes to super close battles on-track.

"I think also we trust one another. There may be tense [moments], it may be hard, but we trust one another. We know that we’ll give each other enough space to fight necessarily and not go beyond the limit."