Formula 1's Mr Consistency: George Russell overperforming in an underperforming car

The Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team got the design of their 2022 car completely wrong. From being frontrunners in 2021, the Silver Arrows have been relegated to the third-best team this year, trailing Red Bull Racing and Ferrari in both championship races.

It is not where the team expected to be, least of all to be picking up the scraps if a driver in any of the two top teams fails to be in podium contention. They want to challenge for the podium and race wins on pure pace, but the current situation does not make provision for that.

Yet, while the team struggles to get on top of their troubles, new recruit George Russell has been raking in the results. Sure, it might not all have been podium-finishing results, but every result of his has been inside the top five. And more, he has outscored and outperformed Lewis Hamilton at the majority of races this year, giving the team the hope they desperately need.

Great work at the #CanadianGP, @MercedesAMGF1! ???? @LewisHamilton brings home a well deserved and hard fought P3! @GeorgeRussell63 continues his streak of consecutive top-5 finishes, starting from P8 and crossing the line in P4. ?? pic.twitter.com/CUvHAu1ZLX

Top five in all nine

Driving a difficult-to-handle Mercedes F1 car, Russell has managed to up his game with every passing race. At the season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, he came home in fourth place, just one position behind Hamilton. Saudi Arabia gave him a top-five finish, before making his appearance on the podium in Australia - his first of the year.

In Spain, he came home in third place and again in Azerbaijan. Versus Hamilton's two, Russell appeared on an F1 podium on three occasions this year. Of course, neither of the Mercedes-AMG drivers finished higher than third,