Hamilton hopes that Russell will be the next British champion
The seven-time world champion says he is ready to help Russell become a more complete driver and would not be against the idea of seeing his future teammate win the title.
After five seasons during which Lewis Hamilton was never challenged internally by Valtteri Bottas (a welcome break after the difficult cohabitation with Rosberg), the seven-time world champion will have to contend with his young compatriot, George Russell, next season.
However, instead of seeing the current Williams driver as a threat, Hamilton is almost excited about his arrival and says he is ready to help his future teammate become better.
« I really want to see him succeed,” a very relaxed Lewis stated to several media outlets, including Autosport. “There will come a time when I will have to end my career, he will be my next teammate and I want him to be the next British to win the title. Even if we will be racing against each other and I want to win, I hope to have a positive influence on his behavior within the team. Whether it’s in the way he communicates with the engineers, in the way of analyzing the data or even in pure driving skills, I am ready to help.”
Despite this positive attitude from number 44, Hamilton knows in advance that his future garage neighbor will want to assert himself immediately, just as he had done against Fernando Alonso in 2007.
« You can see that he is a very talented and respectful young man, he has the right balance. But that doesn’t change the fact that he will want to be quick and he will want to show that he can win right away. I remember that when I faced Fernando, I wanted to beat him in the very first race so I expect him to have this mentality » while also adding « otherwise he is not a winner, you know? »
Great Britain already has ten Formula 1 world champions, will Russell be the eleventh? The answer may come as early as 2022, although the challenge he faces appears colossal.
