23 January 2023 , 22:50
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George Russell is desperate to avoid a "break up" with Lewis Hamilton this year – but admits their relationship will change if they're both in the title fight.
Formula 1 as a sport in general is infamous for intra-team squabbles, and Hamilton is no stranger to them himself. Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg are the two high profile examples of team-mates with whom the seven-time world champion did not always see eye to eye.
In their first year together, there was no such discord between Hamilton and Russell. On the contrary, the fact their Mercedes cars were mostly unable to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari meant they banded together to maximise their points over the course of the season.
There was one moment, albeit a small one, in Mexico, when Russell felt a little put out by a move from his team-mate which saw him drop back at the start. He later said of the incident: "Anyone else but my team-mate, I would have just run them off the road."
There was no evidence of that moment causing any issues as, a week later, they romped to a one-two finish in Brazil with Russell taking the team's only win of the year. And the former Williams driver is keen for them to continue their good working relationship this year.
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"If our relationship starts to break up, its going to have an impact on the team and ultimately it's going to go full circle and affect us as well," said the Brit. "I think we can continue to build off this and if anything our relationship will probably get closer as time goes on."
Russell beat Hamilton to Mercedes' only win of the 2022 season (Andre Penner/AP/REX/Shutterstock)In an interview late last year, Hamilton already admitted there could be fireworks if they're back at the front of the pack. He said in October : "If he finishes ahead of me in the world championship this year, I won't mind. We're going for fifth and sixth places. It would be a different story if it was a matter of first and second place."
While perhaps a little more cautious with his words, Russell has echoed that declaration. The 24-year-old said: "I mean, if you are fighting for one-twos there will be a slightly different dynamic and that's only natural. But I think the thing we have going for us is the fact that we are at very different stages of our career.
"It kind of feels like we are in this together, really. If we've got a car that's capable of one-two finishes, we will have a huge amount of pride in thinking we have contributed together in helping the team achieve this. And then we go about our business. But we've got no reason to have conflict. We have got a good relationship."