George Russell hopes to make Lewis Hamilton “regret” F1 advice

George Russell hopes to one day make Lewis Hamilton “regret” giving him some advice which aided him during his debut Formula 1 season.

The 22-year-old Briton impressed during his rookie F1 campaign driving for the struggling Williams team, which spent the majority of a difficult 2019 season anchored to the back of the grid.

Russell, who stormed to back-to-back titles in GP3 and Formula 2 prior to his F1 promotion, revealed a small piece of advice from six-time world champion Hamilton helped him get more performance out of his tyres in F2, and it also translated into grand prix racing.

Asked what was the best piece of advice he had received from an F1 driver during a fan Q&A with Sky Sports, Russell said: “I had a little bit of advice from Lewis about two years ago when I was racing in F2.

“We were in a debrief and I was struggling a little bit with something and I was talking to some of the engineers and he just gave me a bit of advice from the driving side.

“It was mainly about the tyres, and how to try and get more out of them. I’d say that was a little thing that helped me find that little bit extra, what I was just missing at the start of my F2 career.

“That’s actually pushed forward into F1 as well and has benefitted me as I moved into F1.

“That little piece of information triggered something in my mind and I think a lot about it and how I can get even more out of it.

“I hope I can make him regret giving me that advice one day!”

As Mercedes' highest-placed junior driver, there is a chance that Russell could end up becoming Hamilton’s teammate in the coming years.