Why ‘fresh start’ without Lewis Hamilton has been ‘very good’ for Mercedes

George Russell has told Motorsport.com that Mercedes has been able to have something of a “fresh start” after the departure of longtime driver Lewis Hamilton.

According to Russell, that has been a positive for both parties.

Loss of Lewis Hamilton led to “fresh start” at Mercedes

Before the F1 2024 season truly kicked off, one of the season’s biggest bombshells dropped: At the conclusion of the season, Lewis Hamilton would leave Mercedes for Scuderia Ferrari.

The news came as a surprise for countless reasons, none the least of which included the fact that Hamilton and Mercedes seemed inseparable. The Briton joined the team in 2013 with just one championship under his belt. Over the course of the next decade, he racked up six more for a total of seven — matching the record total achieved by Michael Schumacher.

While that stunning run of success had fizzled away after the introduction of 2022’s ground effect cars, many still found it impossible to imagine Mercedes without Lewis Hamilton, and vice versa.

But now that we’re several months into the team change, things are starting to fall into place.

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And for George Russell, who inherited the role of Mercedes team leader after the departure of Hamilton, the move has provided the outfit with an opportunity to reinvent itself.

In a conversation with Motorsport.com, Russell admitted that “for sure, it’s a different feeling within the team” with Hamilton gone.

“But ultimately, you only look towards one thing, which is the performance.

“We obviously started really well. Now we’ve had a run of bad form. I hope we can get that back on track, but there’s always pros and cons to every change that you make in any organisation.”

It certainly seems as if Mercedes will be getting on track in the latter half of 2025. The Brackley team introduced a suspension upgrade that in fact resulted in more unpredictable and uneven handling, resulting in a downturn in form over the past several months (with the major exception of the Canadian Grand Prix, where nothing could stop Russell from snagging victory and teammate Kimi Antonelli from taking his first podium finish.

For Russell, though, Hamilton’s departure has been a good thing.

“But I think the change was with Lewis,” Russell admitted.

“It’s good for him. It’s really good for us as a team; a fresh start.

“Sometimes you need to break that mould to find yourself back on track.”

The difficult start to the ground effect regulations seems to have given way to a greater understanding of these new rules, allowing Russell and Antonelli to truly begin extracting pace from the Mercedes.

It will also likely serve the team well as it broaches the all-new regulatory set coming for the F1 2026 season.

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