“He's obviously the greatest of all time”: George Russell names Lewis Hamilton as F1 GOAT

Mercedes driver George Russell claimed that his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, is undoubtedly the greatest driver in the history of the sport. He also said that he gets to learn a lot from the veteran.

The two have been driving together since the 2022 season. Although Russell outperformed him in the W13 last season, there is obviously a lot that he can learn from Hamilton's experience of winning seven world championships.

Autoweek quoted George Russell as he said that Lewis Hamilton is the 'figure' of Formula 1 and that he still wants to beat him sometime in his stint with Mercedes.

"He's obviously the greatest of all time. I learn a lot on and off the track from him, and he’s a huge figure for the sport. I think he's hungry to try and win more races. I'm hungry to achieve that and beat him. Lewis still is the greatest driver of all time," Russell said.

Lewis Hamilton has been a little out of form as his fans might call him in the past two seasons. Failing to win his eighth world championship, he has been trying to regain his position at the top but has been far off.

This can also be attributed to the car that Mercedes has provided him with, which is not fast enough to win races against Red Bull or Ferrari.

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George Russell explains why battling with Lewis Hamilton is important for him

George Russell signed with Mercedes in 2022 and had an impressive first season despite the team's condition. He was well ahead of Hamilton and won their only race in Brazil; the team has been without a victory since.

Lewis Hamilton has been outperforming his teammate this season. He steered his way through the midfield and now is within the top five and is more than fifty points ahead of his teammate.

However, Russell feels that it is important for a driver to go head-to-head with the 'greatest' in the sport. He said that this helps him prove his worth and level of competitiveness:

"You would define him as the quickest and the best on the grid. And I get the chance to go head-to-head with him, still now, week in, week out."

"So you want to put yourself against the best because I believe in myself and I've proved to myself and the people around what I'm capable of, and you gain that respect by competing against the best in the business," he added.

Russell is currently seventh in the drivers' standings, 55 points behind fourth-placed Hamilton.