Lewis Hamilton has "reacted" to impressive performances from George Russell as the two Brits push each other to another level.
That is the view of former Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who cannot help but be impressed by Russell's start to life at Mercedes. Stepping up to a top team is always a daunting proposition for any racer, but the young Brit has so far handled it with aplomb.
Mercedes have not been capable of competing for race wins so far in 2022, after getting their W13 car development wrong in the first instance. They have improved over time and now look capable of causing problems for Red Bull and Ferrari, but it hasn't been smooth sailing to get to this points.
Instead, Russell and Hamilton have had to be patient with their temperamental machines and simply try to score as many points as possible. And they have done a brilliant job of it, to the point where they sit just 30 points behind Ferrari after taking full advantage of the Italian team's reliability and strategy problems.
Russell, clearly up for the challenge after joining from strugglers Williams, has managed to produce remarkable consistency. Other than at the British Grand Prix, where he was taken out in a crash at the first corner, he has finished in the top five at every race weekend so far in his debut year.
Villeneuve, who won his one and only drivers' title in 1997, feels Mercedes have benefitted doubly from the Norfolk racer's performances. "Russell has exceeded my expectations," he admitted in his column for Formule1.nl.
"I knew he was fast but he is above Lewis Hamilton and has given Mercedes its first pole of the year. But we are now seeing Hamilton react, and I think Mercedes could be second in the constructors' standings. We will see."
Russell would be well within his rights to kick back and enjoy his summer break after an excellent start to life as a Mercedes driver, but he is not completely satisfied. "It's by no means been a bad start to the season, but I would still like to raise my game a little bit," he said last month.
"If I'm performing against the very best in sport – and I want to be the very best – I need to be at the top of my game every single week. I need to keep on improving. I need to look at my team-mate and see if he's consistently doing something better.
"And there are certain little things that he is probably consistently better at than I am, for the time being, that I want to improve on. I expected no less, and I think that's just a natural part of an athlete's or driver's development."
