George Russell’s desperate worry for Lewis Hamilton comes as a startling Mercedes F1 change is noticed.

Following Russell’s victory over the younger British driver in 2022, Hamilton and Russell are now in their second season as Mercedes F1 teammates.

Last season, when George Russell defeated Lewis Hamilton over the course of the year, Hamilton was trying too hard to make the most of his subpar Mercedes.

Jacques Villeneuve, the reigning Formula 1 champion, has been keeping a close eye on the situation at Mercedes and has put forth that theory.
He has also observed a change in the drivers this year, like many others.

In their first season together, Russell prevailed in a struggle within the team.
Maximizing their point totals was crucial because Mercedes wasn’t strong enough to contend for the championship.

In that regard, Russell fared better, finishing 35 places ahead of Hamilton.
But this year has been different so far, with the seven-time world champion aiming for a top-three finish and 55 points ahead of his teammate.

Hamilton, who is accustomed to vying for the championship every year, may have overexerted himself in 2022, according to Villeneuve. But as he noted to Planet F1, this year, things have changed.

Russell is struggling compared to last year; for some reason, he had a much better season last year, the Canadian said.
I’m not sure if this year’s balance has changed more due to him or Lewis’ improved driving, but it has.

“George was your typical guy last year.
Remember what George moved from Williams to Mercedes, and Lewis was there?
That’s what [Daniel] Ricciardo did when he joined Red Bull.
Therefore, contrast Lewis with George and [Sebastian] Vettel with Ricciardo.
Lewis aspires to victory in competition.
George however wants to defeat Lewis.
Therefore, setting up the car is different from before.

“Lewis didn’t want to settle for third or fourth, so you may end up pushing in some setup areas to try and make up for a half-second,” said the author.
You will frequently move slower as a result of that.

“Vettel’s first-year encounter with Ricciardo ended in a similar manner. So the inexperienced driver keeps to himself and is content to be a teammate, and then all of a sudden, they start to perform amazing.
However, that stops working after the second year.
“.

Villeneuve is certain that Hamilton will resume competing against Max Verstappen once he has the vehicle necessary to do so. Lewis is unbeatable when the car is his and it performs exactly as he desires, as Max is in this situation, the speaker continued.
I’m not concerned about that.