Damon Hill speculated that Lewis Hamilton may not be giving his maximum effort in his last season at Mercedes. Hill suggested that Hamilton’s dissatisfaction with the car may be affecting his performance as he prepares to join Ferrari next season.
Recently, Hamilton made comments about his own performance, expressing his dissatisfaction with his performance in Montreal. Hill acknowledged that Hamilton has not been performing at his highest level and is trying to understand the reasons behind this. Hill compared this situation to when a driver feels they could have done better but recognizes that there may be factors influencing their performance.
Hill further explained how Hamilton was able to overcome this when the track was resurfaced. The 26-year-old driver quickly moved to the front of the race, indicating that his desire to win may have led to some overly aggressive driving tactics. Hill suggested that this type of behavior can occur when the desire to win becomes so strong that it affects decision-making on the track.
The former F1 champion also discussed the opportunity for George Russell to replace Hamilton at Mercedes. Hill suggested that Russell has become a standout among drivers of his generation, much like Hamilton stood out in Saudi Arabia. Russell’s debut was highly impressive, generating excitement and praise for his performance, just like Bearman’s achievement of securing seventh place in his F1 debut.
Hill also mentioned how the introduction of new regulations affected the Mercedes car, resulting in Russell’s poor performance. Since then, Russell has been challenged to perform in a much more difficult car than the one he drove in his debut.
In conclusion, Damon Hill believes that George Russell is not a bad driver, as his debut proved his ability to handle the car. It was just Russell’s bad luck that the new regulations appeared and Mercedes couldn’t build a suitable car, which also affected the performance of their star driver, Lewis Hamilton. As Russell achieves his first podium of 2024, fans are eager to see him more on the stage and contribute points for the team.
