LEWIS HAMILTON has been warned he will have more than just Max Verstappen to worry about this season.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes Mercedes new-boy George Russell will be another title rival for Hamilton — rather than just a wingman.
Lewis Hamilton faces a title battle from his new team-mate George Russell this season
Christian Horner says Hamilton won’t have a ‘wingman’ to help him beat Max Verstappen this year
Hamilton will no longer have Valtteri Bottas by his side, who was labelled a “sensational wingman” by Merc boss Toto Wolff during his five years with the German giants.
Hamilton, 37, also described Bottas as his “best team-mate” after driving alongside him for four of his seven world crowns.
But Horner expects Russell, 24, to provide fellow Brit Hamilton with more of a fight from the other half of Merc’s garage, rather than playing second fiddle.
Horner told : “It’s the first time Mercedes have been beaten in seven years, that’s going to have hurt.
“I’m sure they will come out all guns blazing at the start of this year.
“George is a really talented guy, he’s very quick and I don’t think he will be a subservient second driver. He will get stuck in.
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“It’s great that we have so much talent in the sport with Verstappen, Russell, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and, of course, Hamilton still at the top of his game.”
Last season’s sensational rivalry between Red Bull ace Verstappen and Hamilton ended with the Dutchman’s controversial one-lap shootout victory in Abu Dhabi — and, as a result, Michael Masi was sacked as Formula One’s race director.
Britain’s 2009 world champion Jenson Button believes Verstappen will want to prove last year’s triumph was not simply down to Masi’s failure to follow safety car rules.
Button said: “It’s a world championship he has won — but I’m sure he wants to go and win another so he can say, ‘Look, it wasn’t down to Michael Masi’.
“It’s always difficult when there’s a controversial ending but he’s an exceptional talent and I said that from the word go.” Yet Horner believes Verstappen has nothing to prove and deserves to be champion.
He added: “I don’t think it’s anywhere near his mindset. He won more races than any driver last year, he led more laps than the rest of the field combined.
“He had an insane season last year. At the last race in Abu Dhabi, we didn’t have the faster car but we had the better strategy.
“We got a little bit lucky with the safety car and the crash at the end of the race.
“But Mercedes left Lewis out on both the virtual safety car and safety car on tyres that were going to have 44 laps on them.
“So he was always going to be a sitting duck, so tactically they misjudged that race.”
Testing for the new season gets underway in Barcelona tomorrow — and Horner is looking to compare Red Bull’s new car, the RB18, against their rivals following the drastic new rule changes as F1 attempts to improve wheel-to-wheel racing.
There are fears the team will be playing catch-up on the development of their motor having focused all their time and energy towards last year’s title fight.
Horner admitted: “There’s always that risk. Last year was a demanding year and when you have got an opportunity to go for a championship, you have to take it.
“So has that impacted this year? It’s impossible to say at this point.
“But the team has worked with such dedication and determination, I’m convinced we will have a good car.
“You get an impression after the first test but you won’t get a true picture, because people run different fuel loads — though you will get an impression on how your own car is performing.
“Particularly at the first test, we will focus on ourselves and not get sucked into the time sheets.
Hamilton had described replaced Valtteri Bottas as the ‘best team-mate’
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“You then start to realise the work you’ve done over the winter and if it provides the results you were hoping for.
“It’s so limited testing… just six days, so three days a driver.
“Compared to any other sport, there wouldn’t be that limited amount of practice, so we have to make every lap count.”
