Lewis Hamilton and George Russell 'won't work well' in worrying warning for Toto Wolff

Former F1 driver Jean Alesi has warned Toto Wolff that he could see a repeat of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton's issues with George Russell joining Mercedes this year. Hamilton is taking part in his 10th season with Mercedes this year and has a new partner alongside him in the garage.

Russell is Hamilton's third different team-mate at Mercedes with the previous two very different from one another. Rosberg and Hamilton were good friends growing up racing one another before becoming team-mates at Mercedes in 2013.

After a harmonious beginning, it quickly descended into chaos with both drivers taking shots at each other in the media. Wolff was frustrated time and time again with both drivers pushing the limits on wheel-to-wheel racing with the pair taking each other out on occasions.

Rosberg ended up calling quits on his F1 career after pipping Hamilton to the championship in 2016, with Valtteri Bottas coming in for the 2017 season. While Bottas struggled to compete with Hamilton on the track on a regular basis like Rosberg, the Finnish driver enjoyed a much more peaceful rivalry with the British driver.

JUST IN: Lewis Hamilton accused of 'using the force' on Sergio Perez

But Mercedes have moved in a different direction for the 2022 campaign with young Russell making the step up from Williams. Speaking ahead of the year, Russell attempted to play down any future problems between himself and Hamilton.

However, Alesi doesn't believe the partnership will work in the long run with Russell potentially standing in Hamilton's way of a record-breaking eighth championship.

"(Lewis) Hamilton still wants to prove that he is the strongest at Mercedes, while (George) Russell will want just as much to beat a champion," he wrote for