‘He’s found that mojo again’ - Hamilton praised for ‘turning the tide’
For the first time since 2016, Hamilton was out-scored by a teammate last year, with Russell finishing ahead of him in the championship.
In F1 2023, Hamilton has hit back, sitting 37 points clear of Russell after eight rounds.
Hamilton is 6-2 up in the race head-to-head, while they are 4-4 in qualifying.
Since the introduction of the new Mercedes upgrade in Monaco, Hamilton hasn’t been beaten in qualifying or the race by Russell.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Formula For Success podcast, Jordan praised Hamilton for his improved form in 2023, but still labelled Russell as a potential future world champion.
"I was super concerned as I mentioned in a previous show, however George has absolutely surpassed everything that I thought he could be and he is a brilliant and a potential future world champion,” Jordan said.
"If he's in the right position and the right car, he's got everything. However, Lewis has upped his game. He's found that mojo again.”
On the same podcast, ex-F1 driver David Coulthard warned Russell “not to get ahead of himself” after appearing to be the lead Mercedes driver at the end of last year.
"Mercedes on the comeback and we spoke about this in previous episodes where Lewis has lost his mojo a little bit and I explained in my view that George has to be a little bit careful not to get ahead of himself,” Coulthard added.
"We both agree - as do millions of observers around the world - George Russell is a future world champion. Brilliant driver, full commitment, super good at every aspect of being a Grand Prix driver.
"But we sort of gave warning to just be careful of getting ahead of yourself because a Lewis when he's on form is a formidable teammate. There's a class there. It doesn't mean he's unbeatable because even the late-great Ayrton Senna was occasionally beaten by his team-mates.
"But I think we've definitely seen a little turning of the tide in terms of Lewis. He's looking pretty sharp, there's a spring in his voice if you like when he's talking to the team.”
