George Russell Rubbishes Any Team Order at Mercedes, Says He and Lewis Hamilton Are Treated ‘Equally’

British driving duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are two people in very different stages of their careers. While Mercedes F1 finally promoted Russell, people were not sure if he would receive a similar treatment to the seven-time champion.

The last race saw them working tremendously well as a team. While Lewis scored an unexpected podium win, Russell was fourth. As the new Mercedes W13 struggles, their motives remain similar; but will this always be the case?

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are equals

Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion and a force to be reckoned with. While many await Russell‘s glory, many feel Mercedes could give Lewis an upper hand. This was second nature to Mercedes when former driver Valtteri Bottas was asked to give Lewis the lead many times. Hamilton’s preferential treatment was understandable back then, but it could cost Mercedes now.

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However, in a recent interview, Russell assured that nothing of the sort would happen. He said, “We are on a level playing field,” 

“There are no team orders, we have equal treatment totally and they [Mercedes] trust us to go out there and race fairly.”

Describing his and Hamilton’s equation now, George revealed, “We have a very open relationship.”

“I think because we are at very different stages of our careers there is a really strong mutual respect between us.”

The 24-year-old has always claimed to be respectful of Lewis’s work and has spoken highly of him. Besides, W13 is nowhere near close to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari‘s pace. While fans expect it to catch up with them sooner or later, Lewis and George cannot possibly fight for a win till then. Their primary aim is to keep the car in contention and try to turn in as many points as they can.

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No one knows how the Silver Arrows will fare this season, but the Mercedes camp looked immensely calm and executed a wonderful 3-4 during Bahrain GP. Fans expect to see both Russell and Hamilton on the podium soon.