Renowned F1 figure Peter Windsor has opined that Mercedes did not play the ultimate team game for Lewis Hamilton when they signed George Russell instead of Valtteri Bottas. According to Windsor, the decision on Bottas from Toto Wolff and Co. was technically a ‘sabotage’ for Hamilton.
At the end of 2021, Mercedes parted ways with Bottas and brought in Russell from Williams. The young Brit joined the Silver Arrows on a multi-year deal to form an all-British line-up at the Brackley team. However, for Hamilton, the dynamic changed drastically.
Going by the statistics, Bottas mostly stayed in the shadows of the seven-time world champion for five long years. But with Russell’s arrival, things changed as the young driver, with plenty of potential, was not ready to settle for second place in the team.
That, as per numerous experts, including Windsor’s belief, made things tougher for Lewis Hamilton. On one side, he had to battle for the championship, and on the other, he had to beat his new teammate, who was not ready to fall back.Speaking about that, Windsor said in an interview with the Cameron F1 podcast (at 31:48):
“Well, I say, I think he [Wolff] sabotaged Lewis’ efforts when he signed George Russell instead of Valtteri Bottas.”
Notably, George Russell arrived in 2022 and took charge of the team. At the end of his first season at Mercedes, the 26-year-old overpowered Lewis Hamilton by 35 points.
Russell claimed P4 with 275 points — the only win for the team that year — while Hamilton managed P6 with 240 points.
