Lewis Hamilton’s overall feeling with the Mercedes W14 is helping him come out on top against George Russell, according to a former F1 driver.
While the Hamilton/Russell battle was won by the younger Mercedes driver in their first year together as Hamilton spent a good portion of the year experimenting with various setups in a bid to help the team overcome their design issues, this year has been much more one-sided.
In what Russell himself has decried as a crappy year on his side, Hamilton has had the legs more often than not than his compatriot and, with two races to go, still has a small chance of securing the runner-up spot in the Drivers’ Championship with a points tally currently 70 clear of Russell.
Timo Glock: No mental struggle on George Russell’s side
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com, former F1 driver turned pundit Timo Glock believes Russell’s struggles this year alongside his teammate are not mental – in contrast to those being encountered by Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen.
“I don’t think he’s struggling mentally, I think things just didn’t work out for him this year,” Glock told PlanetF1.com, with thanks to LuckyBlock.com.
“He was unlucky in a couple of races and the development just maybe doesn’t fit his driving style at the moment, or maybe he just can’t get 100% out of the package at the moment.
“You could hear, from Austin on, that the steps they did at Mercedes just sort of work better for Lewis than for George.
“But, on the other side, it is very difficult to get things right in with a car which, every time, performs differently. I mean, if you see the pace they had in Mexico, and then they show up in Brazil and they’re nowhere, let’s say, you can see that the window of the car is very small.
“They still don’t fully comprehend the reasons behind their speed and slowness. As a result, it becomes more challenging for drivers to travel in the correct direction.
“I believe that right now, Lewis seems to be better off just experiencing the pure feeling. George is just having a little more trouble steering the car in the proper direction.
It seems perfectly reasonable and understandable to me that they will undoubtedly become closer once more if they own a car.
“I don’t think George would be mentally challenged in this situation; I think he is aware of his quickness. He is aware of what to do. However, the tools aren’t functioning properly right now.
Timo Glock: It’s up to Toto Wolff to turn things around at Mercedes
Even though Mercedes appears to be on track to finish second in the Constructors’ Championship, they are far behind leaders Red Bull, who could have won the championship even with Verstappen on his own, let alone with both drivers performing at peak efficiency.
victories that exhibited greater consistency compared to the start of the regulation cycle. But Glock says there’s no reason to worry about Toto Wolff’s ability to bring the team back to victory.
“He was put to the test to assemble a group like this early on,” Glock remarked.
“And to maintain the team’s momentum for the considerable amount of time they were winning and controlling.”
That’s another important factor: maintaining the group’s cohesiveness and members’ motivation. Naturally, though, things have changed drastically since then. They have not been at the top of their game for the past two years.
It is now necessary to direct the ship in the proper direction. It is up to Toto to resolve that. However, he has a lot of experience in that area, so I’m confident he knows exactly what to do to rally the group and steer the car in the right direction.
“They still know how to win championships and will be around as long as they have the right car and tool.”
The question is, however, will they identify the cause of why the prototypes they create in the wind tunnel don’t function as well as they believe they should right now on the track?
They must ascertain that, and it is crucial that Toto manages to keep the group cohesive and successful in obtaining it.
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