Mercedes will 'consciously or sub-consciously favor' George Russell over Lewis Hamilton in 2024, according to F1 pundit

Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle has said that Mercedes will favor George Russell over Lewis Hamilton as the 2024 season progresses.

Hamilton will leave the German outfit after 12 years with them at the end of the 2024 season to join Ferrari in 2025. The seven-time world champion's move will leave a vacancy in the team but will push his teammate George Russell to elevate himself as the team leader in just his third year with them.

While appearing on Sky F1 podcast, Martin Brundle spoke about how Mercedes might favor Russell and share information with him over Lewis Hamilton as the season progresses. He said:

"You got this transition point where Lewis will stop being invited to the meetings and will not understand what's going on with the development of the car and the simulator. The team will consciously or sub-consciously favor George, they have got to."

Meanwhile, journalist Rachel Brookes spoke about the importance of the 2024 season for young British drivers Lando Norris and George Russell, adding:

“I think they both need to mold their teams around them. This is really important for both of them now they’ve got to that point in their careers where they’re no longer young coming in.

“They’ve got experience, they know the teams they’re in, they need to really build these teams around them now and make them work for them and get the car built the way they want to drive it."

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George Russell chimes in on Mercedes' struggles in the last two years

George Russell has said that Mercedes' struggles over the last two seasons have been a "surprise" for the team as they have failed to understand the problems of the car.

As per RacingNews365, the Mercedes driver said:

"The last two years have been challenging for the team, off the back of eight championships and finishing third, and 2022 was a bit of a surprise. Not just the result, but the challenges we faced.

"We didn't understand the car. The problems we were tripping over took a lot of time to understand and resolve. I feel like in those two years, we've learned so much as a team, we've developed our tools."

Heading into the 2024 season, Mercedes will hope that they will have a more competitive car and push reigning world champions Red Bull throughout the season.