Lewis Hamilton is "turning the tide" against George Russell in the bid to be top dog at Mercedes.
That's the view of David Coulthard, who has been keeping a close eye on the Brits this season. His interest in their intra-team dynamic stems from the result of their first campaign as team-mates.
Russell had only ever raced for Williams in Formula 1 before making the step up in 2022. Regardless, despite the team's struggles, he produced impressively consistent results across the season.
And he picked up Mercedes' only win of the year, in Brazil, beating Hamilton to the finish line. Not only that, but Russell finished 35 points ahead of his F1 legend team-mate at the end of the campaign.
This year, though, the tables appear to have turned. Mercedes are still off the pace but Hamilton has been scoring the most strongly and sits 37 points above his partner as a result.
For Coulthard, this is evidence enough that Hamilton has been restored to his previous status as the main man at Mercedes. "We gave [Russell] warning of 'be careful of getting ahead of yourself' because Lewis, when he is on form, is a formidable team-mate," he said on his Formula For Success podcast.
"We have definitely seen a turning of the tide, in terms of Lewis looking pretty sharp. There's this spring in his voice when he's talking to the team."
Coulthard presents the podcast alongside former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan. The Irishman agreed with his fellow host's assertion, though did take the opportunity to heap praise on Russell.
Jordan said: "I was super concerned. However, George has absolutely surpassed everything I thought he could be and he is a brilliant potential future world champion.
"If he is in the right position and the right car, he has got everything. Lewis has upped his game, however. He has found his mojo again. He drove a good tactical race [in Canada], giving the car the best chance."
