George Russell unveils special Lewis Hamilton tribute helmet for F1 Abu Dhabi GP
George Russell recently unveiled a special tribute helmet design to bid farewell to Lewis Hamilton at the 2024 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. The seven-time world champion will leave Mercedes and join Ferrari after 2024.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have been teammates for three years now. Russell joined Mercedes right after the intense 2021 season where Hamilton fought Max Verstappen. In the first year as teammates, Russell managed to outscore Hamilton. However, Lewis Hamilton had a much better season in 2023 with Mercedes, especially compared to his teammate.
As the 2024 F1 season comes to an end, George Russell decided to pay tribute to the seven-time world champion through a special helmet design. He posted pictures of the helmet and a picture with him and Lewis Hamilton as well.
The back of the helmet had animated characters of both drivers in racing suits, facing away. The top of the helmet had two real-life pictures of both drivers. One of them was quite an old one, where younger Russell was trying to get Hamilton's autograph when he was in McLaren. The second picture was of both drivers celebrating a podium together. The caption on the top of the helmet was "Crazy how time flies".
The overall caption George Russell wrote on his social media handles while posting the pictures was:
"From waiting for your autograph as a 10 years old to being teammates for 3 years. It’s been an honour mate!! @lewishamilton."
The shocking news of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes arrived in early 2024, even before the Bahrain GP took place. Ferrari dropped the news confirming that they have hired the Brit. On several occasions in the past, the Italian giants have approached Hamilton, but the latter was never keen on leaving Mercedes. Now, however, the F1 legend felt that the time was right.
George Russell explains how Lewis Hamilton's shift to Ferrari would be great for the seven-time world champion to have 'a fresh start'
George Russell recently talked about how Lewis Hamilton's departure from Mercedes could be good for the F1 legend and the team itself. Speaking to ESPN at the Las Vegas GP, Russell firstly acknowledged the amount of good memories Hamilton and Mercedes have created with each other by dominating the sport from 2014 to 2020.
He then touched on the team's struggles in the last three years and hoped that Hamilton's move from Mercedes could help him reset and perform better at Ferrari. Similarly, he hopes that his teammate's transfer could also be a positive change for the Brackley-based outfit.
“To be honest, I think it’s going to be – for Lewis, for me, for the team – a positive change for everyone. Those guys have been through so much success together and they’ve got so many memories," Russell said at 5:12.
“These last three years, it just hasn’t been working for any of us. Changing that mould, for him, what an opportunity – a fresh start. That’s going to give him a lot of motivation." he added.
Going into the last race of the season, Lewis Hamilton is seventh in the table with 211 points, while Russell is in sixth with 235 points. There is still a small chance that Hamilton could outscore Russell before the season ends.