Lewis Hamilton vs. George Russell 2023 F1 Drivers Championship Overview

A British head-to-head keeps Mercedes’ season exciting. Russell beat Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship standings in his first season with the constructor. The seven-time World Champion continuously sought solutions for his car in the early months of 2022, before the battle started to level again as the first-year driver scored points for Mercedes, recording his first win with the team in Brazil.

The pair keeps up the tight margins between them. Russell and Hamilton remained evenly matched throughout the 2023 campaign, with both drivers going wheel to wheel occasionally while working to bring Mercedes back to the front of the field to compete with Red Bull. But before anything else, we drive into the internal battles within the Brixworth-based team.

2023 Drivers’ Championship Season Head-To-Head Odds

On set with @LewisHamilton and @GeorgeRussell63 #OutRaceYourself #PETRONASMotorsports #MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/WcZXXGuWRM

— PETRONAS Motorsports (@PET_Motorsports) July 20, 2023

Lewis Hamilton

Seven-time World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton joins the 2023 season behind his first-ever winless Formula 1 season. Mercedes were consistently outperformed by Red Bull and Ferrari in 2022, which put the veteran driver in a tight spot. Nonetheless, the Stevenage-born driver remains F1’s most successful driver, and there’s time to add more silverware and achievements to his portfolio.

Hamilton faced a few good rivalries during his career. We saw him rub elbows with legends Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso in his early years. After securing a drive with Mercedes, the Brit had intense rivalries with teammate Nico Rosberg. This was followed by heated duels with young prodigy Max Verstappen, which we hope to see more of in the coming months.

Despite coming off a poor year by his incredible standards, Hamilton joined the 2023 season still hunting for an eighth F1 World Championship title, having previously matched Michael Schumachers’s total of seven in 2020. The 38-year-old also holds the record for most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes.

This season sees improvement compared to his results last year. We might just see Hamilton back in the top three by November if the trend keeps up. The Mercedes driver collected 121 points in his last ten appearances, where he racked up a P2-best finish and an average finish of 4.4 paired with an average grid position of 5.9 in the process.

George Russell

Solid foundations make George Russell a great partner for seasoned driver and Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton. His stellar performance in the junior ranks earned him a Formula 1 seat for the 2019 campaign, where he would team up with Robert Kubica at Williams. The shift to the Grove-based constructor was completed in part by the team’s partnership with engine supplier Mercedes, given Russell’s position as one of their junior drivers.

The 2020 season highlighted Russel’s improvement. He was more consistent and would eventually pair with his former Formula 2 rival Nicholas Latifi, with the Canadian filling in Kubica’s seat at Williams. However, his biggest moment in his time with Williams has to be a late substitute appearance for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton when the latter tested positive for COVID-19. The young driver produced a brilliant performance, missing out on pole position by less than a tenth of a second. After a brilliant drive, Russell would suffer from an unlucky pit-stop blunder. He eventually crosses the line in P9 and his first World Championship points.

George Russell stepped up to race for Mercedes in 2022 after spending three seasons with Williams. The Briton did well in his first year in a Silver Arrow and outscored Lewis Hamilton in the process to finish fourth in the Driver Standings. Although we are yet to see Russell score a second podium finish since his first in Spain, he is not far behind his teammate with 82 points and sixth place. Russell holds an average finish of 5.38 ahead of an average grid position of 6.9.

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