GEORGE RUSSELL claims Lewis Hamilton’s decision not to retire last year “saved him” from criticism.
Hamilton decided to return in 2022 – despite the controversial end to the 2021 season when he was denied a record eighth world title by former Race Director Michael Masi’s handling of the Abu Dhabi GP.
And Russell says that Hamilton remaining with the Silver Arrows helped “save” his own career from taking a tonking as Mercedes struggled for performance.
He said: “In a way, having him as a teammate saved me. If he had left Mercedes or the sport when I joined the team, I would have been blamed for the step backwards the team made.
“But I think that I’ve now proved what I’m worth and what I can do, so there’s no pressure in that regard.
“I’m there to do my job as well as possible and I think I’m in a very good position.
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“So I don’t worry about statistics or whether I’m on Lewis’ pace or whatever, because I feel like I’ve already proved that over the past year.”
Russell landed 35 points more than Hamilton last season but the seven-time world champion is believed to have allowed Mercedes to use his car to experiment with design changes.
The constructors became more competitive as the season went on with Russell landing his first ever F1 victory in Interlagos.
While Hamilton had to endure his first ever winless season, ending a run that had been going since his debut year in 2007.
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With three races gone in this campaign, Hamilton leads Russell by 30 points.
Due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, motorsport fans are having to endure a three week break before the action restarts in Baku later this month.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
