Would Russell be faster than Hamilton in a head-to-head championship fight?
George Russell finished higher in the F1 standings last season than teammate Lewis Hamilton, and this year has out-qualified him at all three grands prix so far.
Hamilton finished P2 in Australia (where Russell’s car forced him to retire early) but the debate is still raging about the balance of power between Mercedes’ two drivers.
Kravitz said via Sky: “We really, really want to see Mercedes challenging for the championship with Red Bull.
“Then, we can get into championship-challenging Russell against championship-challenging Hamilton.
“When they’ve actually got something to go for?
“I don’t know this for sure, but I would imagine, if I was Hamilton and I wasn’t in for the championship - ‘I have won so many, I’m not going for the championship, if George beats me I don’t really care’.
“You could reflect on 2022 and say George did beat him in the points.
“[Hamilton would say]: ‘I am not in the championship, I don’t care if I’m third, fourth or fifth if I’m not No1’.
“That’s what I want to see. I want to see championship-challenging Russell against championship-challenging Hamilton.
“We’ve seen in the past that Hamilton takes a step up when he’s challenging for the championship.”
Hamilton is the joint-record holder of F1 championships (seven alongside Michael Schumacher).
But he endured the worst season of his career in 2022, failing to win a race for the first time ever.
Russell claimed Mercedes’ sole victory last season, in Brazil, his maiden grand prix win.
Hamilton, now 38 and with his contract expiring at the end of this season, dealt with many of Mercedes’ problems with last season’s car and is still working out the troublesome W14, although progress was made in Australia with his podium finish.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
