Russell: "I received psychological support for the competition with Hamilton"

Russell joined Mercedes at the end of 2021, replacing Valtteri Bottas, marking a major step forward in his career after three years at Williams. However, this also meant sharing a team with seven-time world champion Hamilton. Russell admitted that this situation initially left him feeling psychologically drained:

"I always believed I was fast, but you never know until you race against the best. I was stepping onto his team, into a team that had been built around him for 10 years."

Russell recalled having a crucial conversation with his psychologist about the anxiety he experienced after signing for Mercedes: “He told me that when I went out on track, it didn’t matter who was with me. Whether it was a seven-time world champion, a rookie, or no one else in the garage, I had to be in complete control. This approach took the pressure off me.”

With guidance from his psychologist, Russell realised he had to accept that he wouldn't be able to beat Hamilton every race throughout the season:

"If I could beat him by 55%, that would be an extraordinary achievement. It would be perfectly normal for me to fall behind in the remaining 45%. Because you have the best in history in front of you."

Russell reaped the rewards of this psychological preparation by scoring more points than Hamilton in both the 2022 and 2024 seasons. However, this period proved difficult for Mercedes, as the advent of ground-effect cars pushed the team out of the top spot. Russell still won four races and became Mercedes' lead driver in 2025 when Hamilton moved to Ferrari.

Russell explained the equation in his mind during his first season at Mercedes: "Anyone who had beaten Lewis in the past had become world champion. So I believed that if I could beat him, that would give me the world championship. Of course, my main goal was always the championship, but in my mind the two were interconnected."