Lewis Hamilton delivers early verdict on working with George Russell

Lewis Hamilton has said that so far it is great to be working with George Russell and that his new team-mate fits like a glove at Mercedes.

The Formula 1 season is getting ever closer with testing underway in Barcelona on Wednesday through to Friday this week.

Indeed, we’ll get to see the new Mercedes, and every other new car, starting to be put through its paces and both Hamilton and Russell will be raring to go.

Certainly, it’s going to be interesting to see what sort of dynamic the new team-mate pairing produces with Russell replacing Valtteri Bottas within the Silver Arrows garage, and it sounds as though it is going well enough judging by Hamilton’s comments:

“George, I don’t remember meeting him because I have a bad memory but we’ve all seen that picture of him as a kid when I was at McLaren.

“Of course, he has had an amazing run getting to Formula 1 and he was already a part of our team so I have seen him around engineering, seen him over time in the simulator and seen him at Williams.

“So he fits in and fits the position like a glove. So far, it is great.

“Honestly, I have learnt a lot over the years how to engage your team-mate, how to work as a team in helping the team achieve the ultimate goal. That is one of the reasons we have more world titles than any other team.”

“I am excited to engage with him, to collaborate with him,” continued Hamilton.

“Hopefully, our styles aren’t too dissimilar. I know what it is like for him being in a position up against a world champion and I know the pressures that come with it, the expectations and the external feeling of what it is like.

“I want him to learn as much as he can and grow as much as he can. I have no doubts he is going to be a strong competitor. I will be