George Russell has had the opportunity to learn a lot from Sir Lewis Hamilton during their first season together at Mercedes.
The 24-year-old was signed to the German side from Williams this year, three seasons after he made his Formula 1 debut with the British side.
He out-qualified Robert Kubica at every race after the Pole had made a sensational return from life threatening injuries sustained in a Rallying accident eight years prior.
Kubica scored the team’s only point of the season at the German Grand Prix that year but, having been otherwise convincingly out-performed by the Briton, he was replaced by Nicholas Latifi.
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Russell made a one-off appearance for Mercedes in 2020 when he replaced the COVID-hit Hamilton, in another season that saw him out-qualify a team-mate at every race.
He would then finish on the podium in Spa after scoring his first points in Hungary last year, and his astonishing displays, particularly on Saturdays, earned him a Mercedes seat in place of Valtteri Bottas.
Russell has added another seven podiums to his tally in 2022, and has generally been able to compete exceptionally well with Hamilton.
The seven-time champion’s incredible abilities have projected themselves onto his younger team-mate, who has been absorbing all the lessons and experience partnering an all-time great has to offer.
“Firstly, I feel so fortunate being team-mates with Lewis because it has given me such an opportunity to see his strengths and where I can learn from him and he is definitely very strong in certain areas,” explained Russell, quoted by GPFans.
“He is always very strong in low-speed corners and under braking, he has always been very strong and it has been interesting to see his approach to certain issues and how he goes about it.”
As a result, Russell’s skillset has broadened from last year to this, although it is difficult to say whether he has, overall, improved as a racing driver.
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“There is no doubt that I have probably widened that envelope of my driving skills by being his team-mate,” explained Russell.
“There is not really a way to measure whether you are a better driver or not, there are so many factors that go into it.”
Russell is fourth in the Drivers’ Standings going into the final six rounds of the 2022 season, with Max Verstappen all set to claim his second title with Red Bull.