'not Nice' To See Hamilton Struggling - Russell

Miami Grand Prix

Venue: Miami International Autodrome Dates: 2-4 May Race start: 21:00 BST connected Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary of believe and qualifying online and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra; title connected BBC Radio 5 Live and unrecorded matter updates connected BBC Sport website and app

George Russell says it is "not nice" to spot Lewis Hamilton struggling pursuing his move to Ferrari.

The 40-year-old has had a difficult commencement to nan play pinch his caller team, contempt winning nan sprint title astatine nan Chinese Grand Prix successful March, and has mostly lagged down team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Russell, who collaborated Hamilton for 3 years astatine Mercedes from 2022-24, said he understood nan seven-time champion's downcast temper successful caller races.

"He's a champion, he's a winner, and he's successful a position wherever he can't execute that," Russell said. "And it's not easy to accept. If he was beaming pinch a large smile, you'd beryllium questioning why he's beaming pinch a large smile.

"I've sewage a batch of respect for him and I for illustration him personally. It's not bully to spot personification who's not enjoying it.

"But why should he beryllium enjoying it? Because for him it's not astir nan money, it's astir nan results. And it's not clicking for him astatine nan moment, but I'm judge it will click astatine 1 point."

Hamilton said astatine nan past title successful Saudi Arabia - wherever he vanished seventh, 31 seconds down third-placed Leclerc - that nan play up was looking "painful".

He is 2 places and 16 points down Leclerc successful nan championship.

But Russell said that critics of nan clip it is taking Hamilton to accommodate to Ferrari were "underestimating really difficult Formula 1 is".

"Sometimes you tin conscionable jump successful and it clicks, and it's straightforward," Russell said. "Other times, it doesn't click.

"The 2nd spot astatine Red Bull (alongside Max Verstappen), why has that ne'er worked out? It's because Formula 1's bloody difficult.

"You know, you're going up against nan champion drivers successful nan world and Charles is 1 of nan champion successful nan world, successful a squad that he's been for his full career, successful a car that he knows precisely really to get nan astir retired of."

Russell besides said that nan value of Leclerc's driving this play should not beryllium underestimated successful immoderate appraisal of Hamilton.

"Charles has besides gone a spot nether nan radar this year," Russell said. "He's having an immense season. He had a beardown title successful China pinch a surgery beforehand wing. He had a super-strong title successful Bahrain and arguably nan information car stopped him from beating me. He could person had 3 podiums this season.

"Charles has been doing a mega occupation and you'd besides beryllium questioning Charles if a driver comes successful and is connected his gait consecutive away."

Russell added that Hamilton getting backmost to his champion was "all psychology - it's not astir moving harder. It's astir your intelligence state. If you're not happy, it's difficult to thrust speedy arsenic well."

Hamilton's struggles person led immoderate to mobility whether he is past his best.

He struggled against Russell successful qualifying past year, too, losing nan head-to-head conflict 19 times to 5 astatine an mean advantage complete nan play of 0.171 seconds. They won 2 races each and Russell vanished a spot and 22 points up successful nan championship.

In their first 2 seasons together, nan brace were separated by specified hundredths of a 2nd connected mean successful qualifying, Russell finishing up successful nan title successful 2022 and Hamilton successful 2023.

Russell said he was not capable to remark connected whether Hamilton was still astatine his peak, but did opposition his existent business pinch that successful his pomp astatine Mercedes, erstwhile he won six titles successful 7 years from 2014-20.

"When you've sewage a car beneath you that's truthful good, you don't person arsenic overmuch pressure," Russell said. "You tin spend to thrust astatine 98% everyplace and still triumph nan race.

"And if you're not being challenged by nan feline successful nan garage, successful your ain garage, everything's conscionable coming easy. You only spot those mistakes creeping erstwhile location is simply a spot much unit from wrong aliases nan circumstances change."

Arriving astatine this weekend's Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton drew parallels pinch his first play pinch Mercedes backmost successful 2013, aft six years pinch McLaren.

"When I joined Mercedes, nan first six months were reliable getting attuned to moving pinch caller people," he said.

"Obviously, nan engineers I'm moving pinch now are utilized to mounting up a car for a different driver and a different driving style, and I'm utilized to driving a car pinch a different driving style. So it's a operation of a bunch of different things."