Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13, George Russell, Mercedes W13
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What Russell's current Mercedes form ahead of Hamilton means for his F1 future

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OPINION: It would not have taken much for Mercedes to have had a very different weekend at Imola, even if a podium was always out of reach. As it was, George Russell led the line for the Silver Arrows, far ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Here’s how he got there and why such troubled times may benefit both team and younger driver in the years to come

Tiny things can swing a Formula 1 race weekend.

A slippery grid spot, a snatched brake lapping a backmarker, running over debris from another car. All of those have cost Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas dearly at Imola in the three races since the Italian track returned to the calendar in 2020. Leclerc’s bad grand prix getaway last Sunday was just the first of two bits of bad misfortune, the second all his own fault…

Consider the Mercedes team in the same event. It would only have taken a few things going slightly differently and its whole weekend may well have been altogether rosier.

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