Bottas: Russell will adjust well, but beating Lewis is not easy

George Russell is gearing up for a his first season as a Mercedes driver alongside seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton who recently said he knows how his younger teammate must be feeling.

Russell has impressed through out his career in top flight, out-driving the back-marker Williams' cars, and almost winning in Bahrain while deputizing for the Covid-stricken Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, and is highly regarded as the future for Mercedes, but received a stern warning from his predecessor Valtteri Bottas, who's had firsthand experience of being Hamilton's teammate.

Speaking to The Sun, Bottas said: "I don’t see anyone else beating Lewis in the near future in the same machinery.

"George will adjust well because he has been with Mercedes for some years, but beating Lewis is not easy," he warned the young Briton.

Bottas believes that what distinguished Hamilton from other drivers is his metronomic consistency over full F1 campaigns, something the Finn struggled to deal with in his days as Hamilton's 'wingman'.

"I have experienced that," he revealed. "It is his consistency in his performances.

"Every driver has form that is a little bit up and down, but his baseline for performance is just so high. Even when he has a bad day it is not too bad. It is his consistency over the season.

"Another of his key strengths is his ability to adapt to different conditions, the skill to react to changes, be it set-up or whatever," Bottas went on. "This and his race-craft. His tyre management is a special skill and all these things are combined with talent.

"And he puts in the work, which not many people see, so he is hard to beat," the ten-time grand prix winner pointed out.

Despite Hamilton soundly beating Bottas over their five seasons as Mercedes teammates, the latter was able to spring the occasional surprise by beating the former in qualifying sometimes, and race on other occasions.

"I can be proud that on my day, I’ve been able to beat him," Bottas boasted. "But not consistently enough to beat him over a season.

"When I joined Mercedes, it was difficult for me to take the lead because of Lewis being there. With him being in the team, it was always difficult for me to take that lead role."

But now, at Alfa Romeo, the 32-year-old's 'wingman' years are behind him, as he looks forward to a leadership role at his new team, with new technical regulations coming into effect, and having a rookie in the form of Guanyu Zhou as his teammate.

"So now it is different and a fresh start for me — and having that lead role is a good feeling," Bottas admitted. "A part of me is always going to miss working at Mercedes.

"Now I have started looking back at my time there, I have tried to take all the positive moments we had. There were great moments and I enjoyed working with Lewis and Toto, but I am also really excited for my new chapter.

"I’m sure with the experience I have with Williams and after five years at Mercedes, I will be able to help the team move forward.

"I feel really comfortable with my role. Yes, there is a responsibility and I have commitments to the team, but it is exciting," the veteran of 178 grands prix concluded.