09 January 2024 , 11:41
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Lewis Hamilton will have "more sway" than George Russell at Mercedes due to his success, according to Christian Horner.
The Red Bull boss has helped his team rise to the top for Formula 1 once again having had to watch the Silver Arrows enjoy a period of dominance. Hamilton was all-conquering during that time, winning six world championships in the space of seven years to make him the sport's most successful performer.
Now in his twilight years, Horner believes Hamilton will still have a pull at Mercedes which aids his ambitions over Russell, who has only won one race in his entire career. The Red Bull boss concedes that is the same situation in his own team with three-time champion Max Verstappen enjoying certain preferences on occasion.
He told the Secrets of Success podcast: “It’s inevitable in any sport I would have thought. I mean, Max came to us as a teenager, he’s now a World Champion. I think the same with Lewis Hamilton. He’s now the most successful driver of all time. He will have more sway within his team than his team-mate, because his value to the team is significantly greater.
“And I think that it’s a matter of keeping that in check. Of course, there will be certain privileges that are allowed to your centre forward, your star player, but he’s still part of a team, he still needs to, you know, there’s no room for a prima donna because at that point, it becomes bigger than the team.
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“So he can’t achieve what he wants to without having the team behind him, without having the tools. And that’s where it’s a matter of achieving that balance, being respectful of the status that they’ve achieved, but also still recognising you’re part of a team, you need all the other elements to deliver for you to be able to deliver your part.”
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been team-mates for two years (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)Hamilton enjoyed an impressive campaign last season with a car that was rarely capable of challenging for wins. Russell though remains the only man to win a race in a Mercedes across the last two years, outscoring his team-mate in his debut season.
Verstappen meanwhile has enjoyed huge dominance at Red Bull, the team who signed him as a junior prodigy. The Dutchman has enjoyed preferential treatment on strategy which has helped him blow several of his team-mates away.
Horner said on his star driver last month: “With the records that he's now achieved, becoming the third most-winning driver in Formula 1, a three-time World Champion, with the statistic of most wins in a season, and everything that he's done, you have to start to talk about him amongst some of the greatest names in the sport."