Lewis Hamilton pledges to ‘work harder’ in upcoming Mercedes battle with George Russell

Lewis Hamilton has pledged to work even harder next season and says he will be motivated to deny new teammate George Russell.

Fellow Briton Russell will replace Valterri Bottas at Mercedes at the end of the current campaign, with the 23-year-old seen as the future of the team once Hamilton eventually retires.

Russell, who has accrued 16 points with Williams this season, is expected to provide far sterner competition than Bottas, but seven-time world champion Hamilton insists he will do everything to make sure he retains an edge when the pair are competing with the same machinery.

“George I imagine is going to be similar to me when I got to Formula 1, he’s going to be hungry, he’s got everything to gain nothing to lose, throw everything and the kitchen sink at it,” Hamilton told Channel 4.

“That’s what I would expect, he will get amazing support from our engineers, he’s got an amazing amount of support to be welcomed in, and we will try to work as team-mates.

“There is respect there, but I know he is going to win races, I know he is going to be fast, I’m sure if we have got the package he will do a great job and there will be times where he is at the front and I’m okay with that.

“I’ll just work harder to make sure that it doesn’t happen.”

Hamilton currently trails Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by six points in the drivers’ standings as the Briton attempts to win his eighth world championship crown.