George Russell has responded to David Coulthard’s criticism of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton after the 39-year-old’s difficult start.
Hamilton has failed to finish in the top six at any of the opening three races for the first time in his career.
But Russell has leapt to the defence of the seven-time world champion in comments relayed by Nextgen-Auto.
Hamilton is in his final year with the team before he jumps ship to rivals Ferrari for 2025.
Russell has out-qualified him at each of the first three races, and scored 18 of Mercedes’ 26 points so far.
At the season opener in Bahrain, he qualified six spots ahead (third vs ninth), though the gap shrunk to two on race day (fifth vs seventh).
Then, in Saudi Arabia, the former Williams driver led a fourth-row lock-out and eventually finished sixth as an unsuccessful strategy gamble saw Hamilton come home ninth.
Last time out in Melbourne, Hamilton bowed out in Q2 and then suffered an engine failure in the race.
Russell, meanwhile, was chasing Fernando Alonso for sixth in the closing stages before crashing out in an incident that led to a 20-second penalty for the Spaniard.
George Russell insists Lewis Hamilton remains focused on Mercedes
Ex-F1 driver Coulthard said in Jeddah that it looked as if Hamilton was ‘mentally’ at Ferrari already as he struggled to get to grips with his W15.
Russell, however, is adamant that ‘that’s not the case’, insisting that his Mercedes partner is determined to sign off on a high.
He said: “Since Lewis’ announcement, I think he has been incredibly professional with the team and the working relationship with everyone within Mercedes feels like nothing has changed.
“I read what David said, that his mind was elsewhere already, but that’s not the case.
“And the team was great too. They gave us both equal opportunities. It’s always been that way from the beginning.
“And every time improvements are made to the car, it affects both of us at the same time, whereas other teams often do one car before the other.
“So the development stays the same on our side and everyone is as involved as before.
“Lewis wants to have a successful last year with us.”
When is Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari?
Ferrari have already confirmed that Hamilton will join ahead of the 2025 season, replacing Carlos Sainz.
That leaves Toto Wolff and Mercedes with the daunting task of finding an heir to the most successful driver in the sport’s history.
But it won’t just be on the race track where they feel the impact of the Briton’s exit.
Already, it’s emerged that two sponsors with close links to Hamilton – Puma and Tommy Hilfiger – are splitting with the Silver Arrows at the end of the year.
The Stevenage-born racer will dream of winning an unprecedented eighth world title with the Italian marquee.
But he knows that the last Ferrari driver to claim the championship was Kimi Raikkonen back in 2007.
Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins has warned him that he faces a ‘massive’ challenge adapting to the new environment.
Former rival Sebastian Vettel expects him to find things ‘difficult’ for similar reasons.
Hamilton’s immediate concern will be his performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he’ll look to ascend the order.
He’s currently down in 10th place with only eight points, behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
The post ‘That’s not the case’: George Russell hits back at David Coulthard's criticism of Lewis Hamilton appeared first on F1 Oversteer.