Lewis Hamilton ‘didn’t really want’ George Russell to be his Mercedes teammate, according to Peter Windsor.
Peter Windsor claims that when George Russell signed back in 2022, Lewis Hamilton “didn’t really want” him to be his Mercedes teammate. After the Finn moved to Alfa Romeo, Russell took over at the Silver Arrows from Valtteri Bottas, whom Hamilton had previously referred to as his “best team-mate.”
Furthermore, Hamilton was reportedly not overly impressed by the move, despite the fact that it attracted racing enthusiasts throughout Britain at the time. Before Hamilton defeated him in 2023, Russell had a stellar season in their first year together.
Russell has been leading the seven-time world champion for the majority of the season, but after winning his first race since 2021, he is now only one point behind him. The nine-time winner at Silverstone will mean even more to former F1 team manager Windsor, according to his assessment, because of the events of the past few years, particularly Russell’s arrival.
Discussing Hamilton’s victory in the British Grand Prix on his YouTube channel, he stated: “I think this race will be remembered because it was two and a half years since Abu Dhabi 2021.”
“It’s about everything that’s happened in Lewis’s life since that day, when that eighth world championship was effectively stolen from him on the final lap due to an error made by the race director: a teammate he didn’t really want, George Russell, in place of Valtteri Bottas, and then, perhaps even more significantly, a very uncompetitive Mercedes.”
It happened on Sunday during the British Grand Prix, when Hamilton ascended to the top of the Formula 1 podium for the first time in two and a half years. At Silverstone, Hamilton ended a 945-day drought by holding off a late surge from Max Verstappen. Although Russell started the race on pole and Lando Norris led his home race for a spell, it was the 39-year-old Stevenage native who prevailed in the face of tremendous pressure in the race’s closing laps.
As teammates, Hamilton and Russell have generally gotten along well, but tensions have increased this season due to the former’s impending departure for Ferrari and the latter’s rising prominence in the sport and the Mercedes garage. Just a few weeks prior, Hamilton seemed to imply that Russell was receiving less attention when he unexpectedly disqualified himself from competing against his teammate in qualifying for the remainder of the season.
In response, Russell recently stated that Hamilton “knows full well” that they receive equal treatment. Following a challenging couple of years in which Mercedes lagged behind McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull, Hamilton’s victory on Sunday comes after Russell’s victory in Austria. These past few weeks have been incredible for Mercedes.
“Since 2021, every day I’m getting up and fighting to train to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team,” Hamilton said after winning the British Grand Prix. My time competing for this team at the British Grand Prix is coming to an end.
“I love and appreciate them so much that I really wanted to win this for them.” Their years of hard work have paid off. I will always be appreciative of Mercedes and all of our partners. And to all of our amazing followers. You were visible to me, lap by lap. There’s no better feeling than crossing the finish line first.”
“It’s true that there have been days between 2021 and now when I didn’t feel like I was good enough or that I would return to where I am now,” he continued. The crucial aspect is that I was surrounded by wonderful people who were always there to support me. Every time I showed up and witnessed my team working hard, it truly inspired me to follow suit.
“On the other hand, my fans have always been so encouraging when I meet them around the globe. Thus, a huge, huge thank you to all of you.”
Next year, Hamilton leaves Mercedes after an 11-year tenure to race for Ferrari.
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