Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be treated equally at Mercedes, Toto Wolff insists

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insists that the team has never had a designated number one driver, and that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be treated equally heading into the 2022 season.

23-year-old Russell is stepping up to the Silver Arrows in place of the departing Valtteri Bottas, after spending three years at the rear of the grid with Williams. Hamilton’s return to the sport, meanwhile, was only officially confirmed by the team last week after an off-season in which he considered his future following the controversial running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Mercedes has traditionally allowed its drivers to race one another, within reason, and alternates between drivers on a race-by-race basis for small advantages like who is given a tow in qualifying. Red Bull, meanwhile, has always given clear priority to Max Verstappen.

Wolff says that Hamilton and Bottas were always given equal treatment in their five years as partners for the Brackley-based squad, and the arrival of Russell will see that dynamic continue.

‘We never had a situation where [it was] one and two,’ Wolff told reporters after Mercedes’ launch of its W13 car for the 2022 campaign, as quoted by Sky Sports. [Hamilton and Bottas] had equal opportunities and the same car.’

‘This year, the interesting situation is we have in George the up-and-coming star [in one seat], and undoubtedly the best Formula 1 driver ever in the other. So the dynamic is new and clearly it’s something that we will try to steer in a direction that has the most positive effect on developing the car and making us overall competitive.’

Wolff also discussed Hamilton’s mentality ahead of his return and said that the Abu Dhabi controversy, which ultimately saw Michael Masi