George Russell outlines plan to avoid Nico Rosberg situation with Lewis Hamilton

George Russell has expressed his desire to "work together" with Lewis Hamilton with the pair set to form an intriguing partnership in the 2022 Formula One season. Russell, 24, joined Mercedes from Williams at the end of last season and promptly expressed his desire to challenge for the status of the team's No 1 driver.

Pundits have already voiced fears of history repeating itself, with Hamilton and former partner Nico Rosberg famously sharing a tempestuous relationship during their four seasons together at Toto Wolff's team.

Three of those campaigns saw the pair become embroiled in heated title battles, with Hamilton, now 37, prevailing in both 2014 and 2015.

However, it was Rosberg who held on to win his sole world championship in 2016, after which he surprisingly announced his retirement from the sport.

The ill-feeling was often evident, with Rosberg famously quipping that they often came "pretty close" to exchanging blows.

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The seven-time world champion did seem to enjoy a far more harmonious partnership with Valtteri Bottas, although it is perhaps notable that the Finn never emerged as a serious contender for the world title in their five years together.

And speaking at the launch of the new Mercedes W13 car on Friday, Russell implied that teamwork would be imperative this year with the new technical regulations being introduced.

"Lewis and I need to work together," he said. "We can't focus too much on each other because things are constantly changing and that's why we need to take a step back.

"We hear rumours from all of the other teams of how much they're developing.

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