F1 news: George Russell has 'no reason for conflict' with Mercedes partner Lewis Hamilton
- Heinrich Griessel
- 21 January 2023
Mercedes driver George Russell is adamant he enjoys a good relationship with team-mate Lewis Hamilton as there is a mutual respect.
Russell and Hamilton endured a gruelling first season as Mercedes co-pilots in 2022, with their W13 lagging behind early in the season, before propoising issues hit them hard later on.
The two Brits have their own reasons to be competitive with each other, as Hamilton looks to enrich his legacy while Russell has the chance to beat a seven-time F1 World Champion in the same car.
Russell reckons the relationship will continue in a positive vein, regardless of any potential tension.
"I mean naturally if you are fighting for 1-2s there will be a slightly different dynamic and that's only natural," Russell told the media.
"But I think the thing we have going for us is the fact that we are at very different stages of our career.
"It kind of feels like we are in this together, really.
"If we get to next [season] and we've got a car that's capable of 1-2 finishes, we will have a huge amount of pride in thinking we have contributed together in helping the team achieve this.
"And then we go about our business. But we've got no reason to have conflict. We have got a good relationship.
"We need to give each other respect, and I think we gave each other respect [in Mexico at the first corners] as an example.
"We recognise the importance of that within the whole team. If our relationship starts to break up, it's going to have an impact on the team and ultimately it's going to go full circle and affect us as well.
"I think we can continue to build off this and if anything our relationship will probably get closer as time goes on."
