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Former F1 driver David Coulthard believes that Lewis Hamilton is not unbeatable and that George Russell has the potential to win a world championship. However, Coulthard feels Russell will have to improve his game to a certain extent.
Russell has been driving alongside Hamilton at Mercedes since the 2022 season.
The year he joined the team somehow turned out to be the one where the W13, which was largely underwhelming to the seven-time world champion, was made. George Russell caught the grip on the car better than Lewis Hamilton and became one of the very few of the latter's F1 teammates to defeat him.
It's facts like these that make Coulthard think Russell is world champion material. He said:
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"We both agree - as do millions of observers around the world - George Russell is a future world champion. Brilliant driver, full commitment, super good at every aspect of being a Grand Prix driver."
Hamilton certainly seems to be making a comeback this season and Coulthard didn't go too far before warning Russell of the same. However, he mentioned that Hamilton is certainly beatable, and would have to be wary of his teammate.
"But we sort of gave warning to just be careful of getting ahead of yourself because Lewis, when he's on form, is a formidable teammate. There's a class there. It doesn't mean he's unbeatable because even the late-great Ayrton Senna was occasionally beaten by his teammates," Coulthard said.
Lewis Hamilton out of world championship race, feels Eddie Jordan
Lewis Hamilton has been in the chase for his eighth world championship since the 2021 season. Although he has gone incredibly close on a couple of occasions, his hopes have rather drifted apart after the past season.
Mercedes did make a comeback this season and the team was expecting a title fight for either of their drivers. However, Red Bull made their way to the top easily with Max Verstappen in the RB19, one of the most dominant cars of the sport.
Both the team and the double world champion have formed a huge lead at the top, and hence, Eddie Jordan feels that the championship race is over for this season.
"But I think it's encouraging to what's seen at Mercedes, but they still have a bit to catch up with the Aston Martin which still looks very strong and still a couple of tenths away from the Red Bull and I don't see the Red Bull suffering in the future. I think the championship is over," Jordan said.
With respect to the performance and standings, both Hamilton and Mercedes have seemingly put their faith in the development of the 2024 car to compete for the world championship. As for 2023, they are battling Aston Martin for second place in the constructors championship.
