Speaking to Motorsport in an interview, Russell revealed how the “flashpoints” between him and his teammate from 2023 were entirely normal, given how evenly they matched up in any race. The duo’s head-to-head stats for the 2023 qualifying session serve as further proof of the even playing field at Mercedes, given both drivers had an even 11-11 split.

“I think also we trust one another. There may be tense [moments], it may be hard, but we trust one another. We know that we’ll give each other enough space to fight necessarily and not go beyond the limit.”The trust between the Mercedes teammates also arises from the team’s strategies, which both drivers follow to the T. Russell revealed he and Hamilton go over their race strategies in team meetings to make each other aware of what they’ll be doing. As such, Russell believes “the pace difference between the two us is zero.”

George Russell aspires to be on the level of Lewis HamiltonPlanet F1 recently issued a report on Russell, where the Briton claimed he felt like he was on par with the average pace of his Mercedes teammate throughout 2023. Many fans misunderstood the 25-year-old’s words and believed he claimed to be equal in performance to Hamilton. They took X to express their dissatisfaction with the same, further signifying how they could not understand Russell’s claims.

In reality, however, Russell mentioned he aspired to one day be on Hamilton‘s level while claiming he had the outright pace to match that of the seven-time world champion. It wouldn’t be an easy task, though, given the 38-year-old is a seven-time world champion and a 103-time Grand Prix winner. Having enough pace is one thing, but sustaining that pace for an average of 50 laps per race is where it gets tricky. Nonetheless, the severity of the challenge does not faze the Briton, who realizes his goal of surpassing Hamilton might not be realistic, but it is “definitely not a bad benchmark.”