“Bro thinks he can beat prime Lewis Hamilton”: F1 fans ridicule George Russell’s stunning championship claim

George Russell recently claimed that he would have won two world championships ahead of Lewis Hamilton if he had arrived at Mercedes five years ago. However, fans aimed at him on social media for his big claim.

Hamilton created history with Mercedes during his 11-year-long tenure by winning six world championships. The Silver Arrows also established an unprecedented era of dominance, winning seven constructors' titles from 2014 to 2020.

Meanwhile, after new ground effect rules were enforced in 2022, Mercedes replaced Valtteri Bottas with young blood, George Russell. From 2022 to 2024, Russell challenged Hamilton at every step of the way, especially in qualifying sessions.

To outperform a seven-time world champion was a huge deal for George Russell. Talking to Athletic recently, he claimed that if he had arrived at Mercedes five years ago, he would have perhaps pipped Lewis Hamilton to win at least two world titles.

"I could have won two F1 titles if I had arrived sooner at Mercedes. If my time was five years prior, you could argue I’d have two championships in my name.”

However, the fans didn't agree with the big claim and dropped their reactions on X through comments.

"Bro thinks he can beat prime Hamilton," a fan said.

"Was slower than 2022 and 2023 Hamilton, crazy delusion"

"Does he know Nico retired because it took him his entire life force to beat Hamilton in equal machinery?" a user commented.

Here are a few more reactions:

"He's so delusional," a comment read.

"If your mouth was smaller, maybe you would have won a championship or two…," a fan said.

"You can't even win 5 races in a season, and you want to be a world champion," another wrote.

Russell outqualified Hamilton in 19 of the 23 qualifying sessions last year and finished P6 in the championship race.

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George Russell opens up on life at Mercedes without Lewis Hamilton

George Russell [L] with Lewis Hamilton [R] at the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

Meanwhile, this year, Lewis Hamilton has moved to Ferrari, making George Russell the lead driver at Mercedes. However, the latter hasn't noticed any change in his life at the Silver Arrows in the absence of his former 40-year-old teammate. Talking to The Athletic, he said:

“I’m just going about my business, as I have been the last couple of years. I’m working with the same group of engineers and the same group of mechanics. Obviously, Lewis was such a large presence that you know that he’s not around. But on the day-to-day running of things, it is no different.

Russell has had a better start to the 2025 season compared to Hamilton. With three podium wins in five races, the Mercedes driver is seated in P4 in the championship race. On the other hand, Hamilton is yet to win a podium in Grand Prix races with Ferrari and slipped to P7 in the title race with 31 points.