George Russell explains why he’s out-performing Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton

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George Russell has explained why he’s extracting more from his Mercedes car than teammate Lewis Hamilton at the start of the 2024 season.

Russell qualified seventh for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, while Hamilton couldn’t make it past Q2.

And speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the session, he revealed the basis for his advantage.

Russell now holds a 3-0 lead over Hamilton in the qualifying head-to-head at Mercedes.

In the races, meanwhile, he’s scored 18 points to establish an early cushion of 10 points and five places.

Russell finished above the seven-time world champion in the championship in their first season together as teammates in 2022.

But Hamilton responded last year by taking third place when the former Williams man could only manage eighth.

It’s the 39-year-old’s last season with the team before he makes a sensational switch to Ferrari for 2025.

Russell points to ‘confidence’ advantage over Hamilton

Russell says he’s more comfortable behind the wheel of the W15 than Hamilton at this early stage of the season.

Sky’s Martin Brundle observed that both drivers had to ‘drag’ lap time from their cars rather than finding a ‘natural’ rhythm.

Russell admits that the Albert Park circuit isn’t well-suited to the characteristics of the Mercedes, but still feels as if he’s more on top of the car than his intra-team rival.

He said: “From my side, I’ve been feeling a bit more confident and consistent with the car.

“We know where we need to improve – that’s the high speed corners. And in Melbourne, there’s quite a few of those.

“I think we’ll be in a much better place tomorrow when the pace is a little bit slower from everybody.

“But the circuit’s definitely not playing to our strengths.”

Who will be Russell’s teammate next year?

Russell will hope to establish himself as the team’s number one driver next year, but the identity of his teammate is unknown at this stage.

If Mercedes plump for their teenage academy driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, then that would position the race-winner as the clear leader.

However, Toto Wolff is dreaming of a swoop for world champion Max Verstappen, should he express a willingness to leave Red Bull.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is also believed to be keeping an eye on the vacancy with the Silver Arrows.

Carlos Sainz is also an option in what would be an effective ‘swap’ with Ferrari as the Spaniard makes way for Hamilton.

There’s also a chance Russell could renew his rivalry with Lando Norris or Alex Albon from his F2 days.

He was able to beat the duo to the title back in 2018, but Wolff would need to extract them from their contracts with McLaren and Williams to bring them in.