The psychological breakthrough behind Russell beating Hamilton in F1 2024 quali 

George Russell puts his comprehensive Formula 1 2024 defeat of former Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying down to being “psychologically in a really good place”. 

The 26-year-old ended the 2024 season with a 24-6 qualifying record against Hamilton, with all sessions including those that set the grid for sprint events taken into consideration. 

This compares with their 8-12 and 15-13 records from 2022 (when there were just three sprints overall and only one qualifying session on each such weekend, hence the lower total) and 2023. 

Hamilton often struggled to maintain promising practice form during his final Mercedes campaign with the troublesome W15, where Russell also led him in the points standings and each finished the season with two wins apiece. 

This would have been a 3-1 split in Russell’s favour but for his Spa on-the-road victory being lost for his car/driver post-race weight total coming in 1.5kg under the minimum allowed in F1’s rules. 

When asked by Autosport why he feels he was so good at qualifying compared to Hamilton at the recent 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Russell replied: “I just feel really confident within the car, confident within myself.  

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“I feel psychologically I’m in a really good place, especially when it comes to these high-pressure scenarios to get the most out of myself.  

“I’m not gonna compare against my team-mate, but just in terms of my own personal performance, I feel [I’m] driving better than ever.” 

Russell also said he felt even better in himself compared to the start of 2024, when it became clear he would be set to lead Mercedes as Hamilton decided to join Ferrari for 2025. 

“Every driver is capable of doing great laps and great performances, but when the pressure’s up and it comes down to that one lap in Q3 – that’s where it comes down to your headspace, really,” Russell said of how his psychological feeling had impacted his 2024 results.  

“And I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself and how to get the most out of myself. And for everyone it’s different. But I just know in myself what works for me.”