George Russell jests at how Lewis Hamilton requested payment in return for saving his career

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have shared a garage for a little over a season and a half now, and save for minor racing incidents, the two Brits have enjoyed an amicable relationship.

Russell has himself acknowledged the mutual respect shared between the two, stating that neither driver had something to prove, that they were there because they “earned it.” More recently, a video interview of Russell has surfaced where George points out that Lewis Hamilton had allegedly ‘saved’ Russell’s career.

George Russell’s career-changing revelation on Lewis Hamilton

Following the controversy of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, there was strong speculation that Lewis Hamilton was looking to retire from the sport. However, he chose to stay on and fight Red Bull another day at Mercedes. Unfortunately, since then Mercedes have seen little success in doing so, falling to a fight at the midfield.

George Russell points out in the video that by staying on, Lewis has contributed to saving Russell from single-handedly taking on all the blame, which would’ve been accentuated had Lewis no longer been available as a standard of comparison.

Thanks Lewis 😅#C4F1 | #F1 pic.twitter.com/pUbc5uswDp

— Channel 4 Sport (@C4Sport) August 12, 2023

To this, Lewis jokingly demanded payment for these alleged services! The video stands as further evidence of the positive relationship the two drivers share. After a poor teammate relationship with Nico Rosberg, Hamilton has maintained good relations with his teammates since, both Bottas and Russell.

Russell replaced Valtteri Bottas in 2022

George Russell began his F1 career at Williams Racing in 2019, alongside Robert Kubica. Considered an Formula racing prodigy in his early career, George solidified his place at the Mercedes driver academy and in Formula 1 by winning the 2018 F2 championship. However, he got his first points only in 2020, primarily because he simply didn’t have a challenger competitive enough to even fight for points.

In 2020, Russell was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive a Mercedes at the 2020 Sakhir GP, due to Lewis testing positive for COVID-19. He exceeded expectations here, beating Bottas despite it being his first race with the German team, losing out on a race win only due to a puncture.

2021 saw George have an even more brilliant season. At spa, he even placed P2 in a Williams, out qualifying both Lewis and Bottas in a Mercedes. It was therefore no surprise that Wolff, ahead of these considerations, brought him up to the Silver Arrows, much to the disappointment of Bottas. Bottas and Russel already had a strained relationship ahead of their collision at the 2021 Imola GP and this may have added to the bitterness.

Do you think George and Lewis will be able to fight for a championship again? If they do, will their relationship face the same bitter end as George and Rosberg? Comment what you think down below!