George Russell feels he is "now" a better driver than Lewis Hamilton.
The Brit is in his second season with Mercedes. And the man from King's Lynn caught the eye with his consistent results last year as he ended up out-scoring the seven-time world champion over the course of the campaign.
Hamilton has had the upper hand in the intra-team battle so far this term, though. He is 37 points ahead of Russell, a margin which increased on Sunday with a podium at the Canadian Grand Prix.
So far, the rivalry between them has been entirely friendly. The fact Mercedes are not in the title hunt has probably played a part in that, but it is clear there is also a lot of mutual respect between them.
Russell proved what he truly thinks of Hamilton in a lie detector test with Sky Sports. In the feature, which was shown ahead of the Montreal race, the 25-year-old was asked by presenter Simon Lazenby if he believes Hamilton is the greatest Formula 1 driver ever.
"Yes," came the immediate response from Russell. And that was swiftly followed by conformation from the lie detector that he was telling the truth.
He required a little more thinking time when the next question came from Lazenby, though. Asked if he thinks he is faster than Hamilton, Russell paused for a moment before replying: "Now, yes." And it was another truth, according to the lie detector.
Not everyone will agree with that statement, but it is clear Russell believes it to be true deep down. And the same is true about whether he will win the F1 title in the future – he said he would when asked about that in the feature.
As part of the questioning, Russell was also quizzed on some sillier subjects. Referring to an image of Russell with no shirt on which went viral last year, he was asked: "Do you look better topless than Lewis," to which replied with a smile: "Yes."
He also said he would not beat Hamilton in an arm wrestle, though the machine said he was lying about that. But Russell was certainly telling the truth when he said team principal Toto Wolff would beat him in such a contest. And, on a more serious note, the driver referred to the Austrian as the best boss he has ever had.
