A new challenge for Hamilton: How does the duel with Russell work out for Lewis?

Bram Huisers - Editor GPblog NL

Up until now, Lewis Hamilton has mainly been a great challenger to his teammate, especially in the early years. Right from his debut with McLaren, Fernando Alonso had a tough time with him, in his years with Heikki Kovalainen he had the power within the team, but with world champion Jenson Button at his side he had a tough time. In all the years that Hamilton drove in F1 he competed for the top spots, which makes him the most experienced driver on the F1 grid.

The seven-times world champion will therefore want to take direct control over George Russell. Just as he did with Nico Rosberg, winning the title in 2014 and 2015. Russell, in turn, will have to get used to Mercedes' atmosphere and way of working and so it will be particularly interesting in the long term how Hamilton holds his own against Russell because we've seen before with Rosberg that if you have Hamilton as a teammate for several years, there are certainly opportunities to beat him.

Matt Gretton - Editor-in-Chief GPblog UK

The new generation of Formula 1 has now officially made it to the front of the grid. Experience against youth always creates some exciting battles. We see that in 2021 with the World Championship duel between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. But we also see it within teams and we don't have to look too far back through the history books to find a great example. Sebastian Vettel was the team leader at Ferrari, until Charles Leclerc arrived and stole all of the thunder.

George Russell's impending arrival at Mercedes creates a very similar situation. But I think the outcome will be different. Hamilton is in a far better headspace and he is looked after well within the Mercedes team. Having had the shoe on the other foot, and experiencing similar battles throughout his career, he'll know how to handle the pressure against the youngster. He knows that Russell is there to become the leader of the Mercedes team. And something like that will only focus his mind sharper on Formula 1 over the next two years.

Tim Kraaij - Editor-in-Chief GPblog NL

The duel between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be very interesting to follow. Not only because Russell, unlike Valtteri Bottas, will want to do everything to become the leader within Mercedes, but also because it is between two Brits. If this really becomes an exciting duel, it could also split Formula 1 in England into two camps.

As for the duel itself, I expect Hamilton to have the upper hand certainly in the beginning. On Sunday, Lewis' class is almost unmatched. Verstappen and he are on a different level in that respect, and I doubt Russell can match that in his first season already. Russell does have excellent one lap speed, however, and on Saturday he may be more capable than Bottas of beating Hamilton in qualifying. That could eventually cause Hamilton to break, especially if Russell improves in the races.

I'm particularly looking forward to this duel, as it's a new storyline in F1. We all already knew how the duel between Bottas and Hamilton would go, so a new teammate for Hamilton only adds to the curiosity. I expect both to do everything they can to become/remain the frontrunner for Mercedes, and that could make for a lot of fireworks, something we've missed at Mercedes since the departure of Nico Rosberg.

Jools Reimer - Editor GPblog UK 

It's not the first time that Hamiltons had to face a challenging opponent. For most of his career, his teammates have been former world champions or definitive podium finishers. But despite this, Hamilton has always seemed to triumph. He swept aside two-time champion Fernando Alonso as just a rookie and has dominated over his two previous teammates over his now eight-year tenure at Mercedes.

But what kind of challenge does Russell offer? Well for one, I think Hamilton will benefit from Russell's age and social standing in comparison to himself. Russell is still very much fresh meat in the Formula 1 safari. But that's not to say I think Lewis will have it his own way completely. Russell's pure speed may cause issues for the seven-time world champion and there's no doubting that if Russell can begin the 2022 season on the front foot and match Hamilton, that the past memories of the Rosberg era will come back.