George Russell has seen his teammate - seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton - finish on the podium in the last three races, but was not at all surprised by this
Of the 11 races contested so far in the 2022 Formula One season, George Russell has come in ahead of Lewis Hamilton on seven occasions. But the seven-time champion has again put in remarkable performances in recent races, so much so that #63 himself has stated that the results seen in both England and Austria show just how fast Hamilton is.
In the last GP, held at the Spielberg circuit, Hamilton took his third podium in a row - his fourth in the year - while Russell had to make a recovery run, crossing the finish line in fourth. "I think we've seen in the last two races how fast Lewis is," the Mercedes driver stressed to journalists in Austria.
Much of Hamilton's improvement can be attributed to Mercedes' own improvement, which has suffered far less from the kicks than it did in the first few races of 2022. Russell said he was always aware of how challenging it would be to have his compatriot as a teammate, but knew it was a matter of getting the hang of it to be competitive.
"I think as a driver you want to finish ahead of everyone, and that includes your teammate. I knew the challenge I was going to face before the season started, competing with Lewis, and I saw firsthand how great he is," Russell said.
"As in any sport, you pick up the pace a bit, and things can seemingly go against you or in your favor, but I think I had a good race," he added.
Russell has mostly stood out for his consistency. Except for the British GP, which he didn't complete after being involved in the crash at the start, in all the other races contested so far, the #63 has finished in the top five.
"In the first nine races, I would say we did very well, maybe eight," he said. "The last two were more complicated for me, of course. But I'm happy to be racing again this weekend in Austria," he concluded.
Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton's former teammate at Brackley, was also very complimentary about the former Williams driver's performance. The Alfa Romeo representative said that Russell was expected to do well in Mercedes, "especially because I know how complicated it is to beat Lewis. "He is doing a great job," added the Finn.