The passing of the baton
2021 was the season in which the Mercedes obtained its eighth consecutive constructors’ title, as well as the last in which the Brackley company fielded the driver duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. The Finn, in fact, was replaced by the former Williams George Russellwith Team Principal Toto Wolff aiming for the Briton to safeguard the long-term future of the team, especially in the event that Hamilton decided to move elsewhere or retire from competition.
The emergence of tensions
Until that moment, the coexistence between the seven-time world champion and Bottas (who later moved to Alfa Romeo) was based on a very distinct difference between the role of first and second driver, but Russell’s arrival is revolutionizing the conditions. The Briton, so far the only one capable of bringing Mercedes back to the top step of the podium in the last Brazilian GP, also increased tensions with his teammate after the challenge between the two in Japan. Added to this is the recent one Hamilton’s contract renewal for another two years, which does not suggest a completely peaceful future in the pits, at least judging by the current state.
Windsor’s thought
The former Ferrari and Williams manager is also convinced of this Peter Windsor. The well-known British journalist, speaking on his channel YouTube after Suzuka, he believes that the climate at Mercedes is becoming increasingly complex thanks to Russell’s inclusion in the team: “The point is that this should also be seen in the context in which Lewis was telling Wolff endlessly to keep Valtteri – he declared – ‘He is exactly the right person’, he said, while Toto insisted on betting on the ‘Next generation, with George being faster’. I blame a lot of the press for this, because many of them said: ‘You know that Valtteri is not fast enough, while George is faster’ and, of course, then won that seat race alongside Hamilton. I go back to saying that if you have Lewis, you don’t need George, and if you have George, you don’t need Lewis. Mercedes is an unbalanced team, it always has been since this pair has existed and it always will beand that’s the problem.”
The Red Bull case
To better explain the concept of imbalance of the Anglo-German team, Windsor gave the example of another team that does not suffer from these particular conditions: “If you have Verstappen you don’t need a Russell in the other car, you need a Perez – he added – and this is one of the reasons why Red Bull is so dominant. You don’t necessarily need someone better than Perez because Max is there. Consequently, when there is a Hamilton you don’t need a Russell, but a Bottas.”
#HamiltonRussell #tensions #Windsor #Mercedes #balance