George Russell makes no secret of the fact that he missed many opportunities in 2023 and that his eighth place at the end of the season was worse than expected. 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve tried to explain why the British driver got into trouble, even though he was ahead of his more experienced teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2022.
Jacques Villeneuve: “It’s actually amazing. Last year he was new to the team, coming from Williams. He didn’t have to win the race; all George had to do was beat Lewis.
Lewis had to deal with the fact that he had lost the title and his car was no longer easy to win. I think it took its toll on Lewis and it took a while for him to sort himself out. And this fact also made George’s life easier.
Last year, Russell found himself in the same position as Daniel Ricciardo in 2014 when he became Sebastian Vettel’s teammate. He didn’t have to think about anything other than staying ahead of Vettel. Vettel, on the other hand, tried to reinvent the wheel to start winning races again, but this only drove him slower. The same thing happened between Russell and Hamilton in 2022.
In 2023, the situation changed when Lewis realized that he had to work with the same dedication as at the beginning of his career. And this changed the balance of power at Mercedes somewhat. George in turn started the season thinking he was ahead of Lewis and could fight for victories, and this affected his mood. George will still make his comeback because he is very fast.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
