Formula F1 champion Damon Hill has claimed that Lewis Hamilton has been a victim of bad fortune so far this season. He also dismissed any suggestions that George Russell has ‘humiliated’ his Mercedes teammate.
The seven-time champion finished 13th last time out in Imola as he struggled to extract the best from an average Mercedes car in comparison to the lofty standards they have set over the better part of a decade. He lacked pace and porpoising is still a significant issue for the Silver Arrows.
The 37-year-old has also finished behind Russell in three of the four races contested so far this year. The jury is out whether Hamilton will be a factor in the title race this season due to his indifferent start and questions regarding his future at Mercedes and the sport as a whole have surfaced once again.
But as the reigning constructors' champions look to make improvements this weekend at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, Hill assessed the performances of both drivers. “He's [Russell] done an absolutely brilliant job and is looking strong," Hill told the F1 Nation podcast.
“I think Lewis has been a little unlucky and I think he's been delving around and [has] been happy to play the guy who tries the experimental setup for Mercedes a bit because he's got more experience with them. So perhaps he's gone the wrong way sometimes and that has made him look worse off than he really is against George, but George is definitely doing a sterling job – and I think that's a very firm foundation for him going forward.
“He's not humiliated Lewis in any way, I don't think. I don't see it like that, I think Lewis is maybe a little bit downhearted as well, and George is very keen to establish himself.” Mercedes currently sit third in this season’s constructors standings, trailing Red Bull and Ferrari.
Due to their unparalleled success since 2014, Hill is not counting out Toto Wolff’s men. “Would you completely rule out Mercedes? I mean, they've got a lot to think about but, perhaps, they could throw themselves into the pot," the 1996 F1 world champion added.
“They again have even less resources that they can use because they've had so much success, so they're actually on the limit almost with how much development, wind tunnel, all the rest of it, they can do and financial resources. They're almost a second off the pace, but that's because they can't get their car low enough, and they can't get their car low enough because of this porpoising.”
The very first Miami GP will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium and a large number of A-list stars including LeBron James, David Beckham, Ryan Reynolds and Renee Zellweger are set to attend the racing extravaganza this Sunday.
