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You might have seen a flurry of “reports” stating that Lewis Hamilton doesn’t want George Russell as his team-mate. Some F1 fans are taking it as a fact.
We here at SilverArrows.Net don’t normally publish rumours but, if we happen to find a story relevant enough, we will clearly label it as such. However, we have to give our comment on this crazy “story” that has been going around, if for no other reason, then because it is not even a rumour.
The story goes that one of the hurdles in Lewis Hamilton’s contract negotiations is Lewis’ supposed insistence that he doesn’t want Mercedes junior driver George Russell as his team-mate. Astonishingly, the story has been relayed by many F1 fans as fact, with debates raging about Hamilton’s supposed “fear” of being bested by a young team-mate.
What is infuriating is that there is actually NO STORY HERE! It was originally not reported as a fact, not even as a rumour. In the original story De Telegraaf quoted former Formula 1 driver Arturo Merzario’s OPINION on what he THINKS might be going on in Lewis Hamilton’s head. It’s not even an anonymous source supposedly spilling the beans on the negotiations, it’s just an ex F1 driver giving his opinion on a subject he has no inside knowledge on.
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So, here is Merzario’s original statement:
“It is probably not far from the truth that Hamilton does not want a teammate like that,” the Italian driver said.
“For him, Valtteri Bottas is much better. Everyone in racing knows the rule that your first opponent is always your teammate in the same car.
“But Hamilton needs to be clear that things are changing. Sooner or later as a driver you come to the point where the younger ones overtake you.
“It’s like that in every job – why should it be any different in Formula 1?”
So, again, there is no story to report, there is no rumour to report, there’s just a statement by an ex driver giving his opinion. And you know what they say about those, right?
