Lewis Hamilton facing Nico Rosberg situation at Mercedes – ‘It’s gnawing at him’ | F1 | Sports

Former F1 star Ralf Schumacher believes George Russell finishing his maiden season with Mercedes on more points than Lewis Hamilton will rub the latter up the wrong way. And he has interestingly hailed the 24-year-old for bettering Nico Rosberg’s world title triumph over his Silver Arrows’ partner turned rival in 2016.

Russell and Hamilton endured a frustrating 2022 season in the troublesome W13 car as Red Bull dominated the field to end Mercedes’ nine-year run as constructors’ champions.

However, the former took his first F1 pole position and race win in Hungary and Brazil, respectively, on his way to bettering Hamilton’s points tally by 35.

In a recent German interview, Schumacher was asked about Russell’s first season after leaving Williams and his surprising success against Hamilton.

And the former Williams and Toyota driver touted it as an eclipsing achievement over Rosberg’s six years ago and believes it will ‘gnaw’ at the seven-time world champion.

He told Sport1: “[Russell’s season was] awesome You have to remember that he came as a young driver as a team-mate to Lewis, who was the top dog in every respect.

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“Still, he beat him. That gnaws at Lewis. For me, George’s performance under these circumstances is even higher than that of Nico Rosberg in 2016.”

Russell is just the third driver, joining Jenson Button and Rosberg, to accumulate more points than Hamilton in the same car over the course of a season.

But unlike his predominantly punishing circumstances, Button and Rosberg’s successes saw them crowned F1 world champions.

That said, Schumacher’s claim has some weight. Russell boasted a 12-10 advantage over Hamilton in terms of race wins in 2022, compared to the Brit finishing level on 10-10 with Rosberg in 2016.

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And Russell’s ‘Mr Consistency’ nickname after securing nine consecutive top-five finishes during a particularly tumultuous time in Mercedes’ year proved he has the makings of a future champ.

His victory in Brazil was also, of course, the Silver Arrows’ only success all season, showingcasing his ability to hold his nerve at the front of the pack.

Hamilton will be hungry for friendly vengeance in 2023, but the main focus is bound to be on working together to ensure Mercedes’ package is one worthy of competing again.

Russell’s supremacy over the 37-year-old won’t count for much while Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance continues.

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