It really couldn't be the car since George Russell did fine in it. George Russell also did fine in the 2022 car. The zero pod that everyone says was "the worst Mercedes ever".
George Russell got a win and 19 top 5 finishes in that "worst Mercedes ever".
Hamilton doesn't have the commitment to hang with elite drivers in their mid 20's.
I dunno.... 2023 was 1 year ago & Hamilton was still beating George then.
so lets look at the last 3 years
2022
Hamilton was increasingly frustrated with Merc and the direction they were going...He did talk about not feeling heard on the designs of the car for a couple years during the zero pod development.... and the porpoising problems...I think it's why Lewis left. I can see a situation where Hamilton says:
"f*** it I've given everything for this team, and I have nothing to prove.....I'm not killing myself to drive a POS to the limit just to score some middling points for a team that won't listen to me."
Meanwhile George was hungry as hell and young, unproven, and possibly willing to push that much harder just to prove he belonged in F1.... I remember George hurting his back in a porpoising car.. I wonder if Hamilton was just like "Nah...not worth it"
2023
The "hot young kid & future WDC" is close to a much older Hamilton in a more competitive car. Close but Hamilton pips George and is already planning his possible exit from a team whom he feels are trying to push him out the door with crappy contract offers. season ends and the Ferrari news breaks...
2024?
No way Hamilton was going to beat George in said lame duck contract year.... Merc was ALWAYS going to give George priority ..from the basic design of the car and set up built to suit Georges style over Lewis' to the better power plants....to the better strategies...
Basically the "who is better" argument comes down to the year of the dangerous painful crap car, and a lame duck "leaving for ferrari ASAP" season with Merc already focusing on George as the future of the team.
as much as Russel "won" the head to head in 2024? it was pretty damned close.. and if my ideas about the development and favoritism for George by the team in 2024 is true...then Hamilton really beat George again because Lewis pretty much matched George in lesser equipment....
so The only real decision to make from the last 3 year's results is, Either both are garbage, or both are capable competitive drivers but Lewis is still probably a little bit better.....
