Maiden F1 triumph in Brazil ‘more important’ than beating Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes driver George Russell

Mercedes driver George Russell claims his maiden victory in Brazil is more significant than beating Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings. The Briton delivered the Silver Arrows' only win of the 2022 season, whilst managing to outscore seven-time world champion Hamilton.

Mercedes had a 2022 to forget given their dismal form in the first half of the year. The team's 2022 challenger, the W13, was plagued with porpoising from pre-season testing, meaning that they were out of the title battle from the very beginning of the season.

Russell managed to make the best of a bad situation for the team, winning the 2022 Brazilian GP in Sao Paolo in triumphant fashion, all the while outscoring the sport's most successful driver Lewis Hamilton. Despite beating the seven-time world champion in the drivers' standings at the end of the year, the 25-year-old believes his win in Brazil was a lot more significant for him and his team.

Speaking to AMuS, George Russell said:

“For me, this victory in Brazil was more important than the points classification. At the end of the day, nobody remembers that I beat Lewis on points. I only finished fourth, so no-man’s land.”

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George Russell claimed he can't beat Lewis Hamilton in every single session

George Russell outperformed Lewis Hamilton in 2022 but claims he cannot repeat the feat every season.

Speaking to The Race about his battle with his teammate, George Russell believes it will be incredibly hard to beat Hamilton on track every year given his vast experience and success in the sport. He said:

"I'm not going to beat him every single session, every qualifying, every race. That's just absolutely not going to happen. But having a year like we've had this year, is almost equivalent to maybe what the 95/5 split was for me previously."

George Russell also feels that believing he can beat the seven-time world champion at every race weekend is going to lead to nothing but disappointment for him in times to come. He continued:

"I never doubted myself. I always believed in myself. But if you go with the mindset, 'I'm going to beat Lewis Hamilton 95 percent of the time,' you're going to come away disappointed."

However, the 24-year-old reckons also feels that he might continue to beat his teammate by a very small margin in times to come.

Russell is now in elite company, having beaten Lewis Hamilton in equal machinery. With Mercedes touted to be title contenders in 2023, it will be interesting to see if the former Williams man can repeat his stellar performances from last year.