Miami Grand Prix
Venue: Miami International Autodrome Dates: 2-4 May Race start: 21:00 BST on Sunday
Coverage: Live commentary of sprint race and qualifying online; race on BBC Radio 5 Live from 20:00 BST and live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
George Russell says it is “not nice” to see Lewis Hamilton struggling following his move to Ferrari.
The 40-year-old has had a difficult start to the season with his new team, despite winning the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix in March, and has generally lagged behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Russell, who partnered Hamilton for three years at Mercedes from 2022-24, said he understood the seven-time champion’s downcast mood in recent races.
“He’s a champion, he’s a winner, and he’s in a position where he can’t achieve that,” Russell said. “And it’s not easy to accept. If he was beaming with a big smile, you’d be questioning why he’s beaming with a big smile.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I like him personally. It’s not nice to see somebody who’s not enjoying it.
“But why should he be enjoying it? Because for him it’s not about the money, it’s about the results. And it’s not clicking for him at the moment, but I’m sure it will click at one point.”
Hamilton said at the last race in Saudi Arabia – where he finished seventh, 31 seconds behind third-placed Leclerc – that the season ahead was looking “painful”.
He is two places and 16 points behind Leclerc in the championship.
But Russell said that critics of the time it is taking Hamilton to adapt to Ferrari were “underestimating how difficult Formula 1 is”.
“Sometimes you can just jump in and it clicks, and it’s straightforward,” Russell said. “Other times, it doesn’t click.
“The second seat at Red Bull (alongside Max Verstappen), why has that never worked out? It’s because Formula 1’s bloody difficult.
“You know, you’re going up against the best drivers in the world and Charles is one of the best in the world, in a team that he’s been for his whole career, in a car that he knows exactly how to get the most out of.”
Russell also said that the quality of Leclerc’s driving this season should not be underestimated in any assessment of Hamilton.
“Charles has also gone a bit under the radar this year,” Russell said. “He’s having an immense season. He had a strong race in China with a broken front wing. He had a super-strong race in Bahrain and arguably the safety car stopped him from beating me. He could have had three podiums this season.
“Charles has been doing a mega job and you’d also be questioning Charles if a driver comes in and is on his pace straight away.”
Russell added that Hamilton getting back to his best was “all psychology – it’s not about working harder. It’s about your mental state. If you’re not happy, it’s difficult to drive quick as well.”
Hamilton’s struggles have led some to question whether he is past his best.
He struggled against Russell in qualifying last year, too, losing the head-to-head battle 19 times to five at an average advantage over the season of 0.171 seconds. They won two races each and Russell finished a place and 22 points ahead in the championship.
In their first two seasons together, the pair were separated by mere hundredths of a second on average in qualifying, Russell finishing ahead in the championship in 2022 and Hamilton in 2023.
Russell said he was not able to comment on whether Hamilton was still at his peak, but did contrast his current situation with that in his pomp at Mercedes, when he won six titles in seven years from 2014-20.
“When you’ve got a car beneath you that’s so good, you don’t have as much pressure,” Russell said. “You can afford to drive at 98% everywhere and still win the race.
“And if you’re not being challenged by the guy in the garage, in your own garage, everything’s just coming easy. You only see those mistakes creeping when there is a bit more pressure from within or the circumstances change.”
Arriving at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton drew parallels with his first season with Mercedes back in 2013, after six years with McLaren.
“When I joined Mercedes, the first six months were tough getting attuned to working with new people,” he said.
“Obviously, the engineers I’m working with now are used to setting up a car for a different driver and a different driving style, and I’m used to driving a car with a different driving style. So it’s a combination of a bunch of different things.”
