George Russell has hit back at suggestions of a fall out with Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes pair are in their final season as team-mates, with Hamilton set to make the switch to Ferrari ahead of next year. He suggested at the Monaco Grand Prix that the team might be giving preferential treatment to Russell due to his impending departure.
They handed their latest front wing upgrade exclusively to him, and there's been speculation of growing tension in the team. But any notion of a rift was dismissed by Russell in Monaco, where he outperformed Hamilton in qualifying for the seventh time in eight races this year.
When probed on whether his bond with Hamilton had soured, Russell was quick to shut down such talk with a succinct seven-word retort, as reported by GPblog: "No, not at all. The relationship's good," he responded.
Hamilton, meanwhile, seemed less than thrilled with how things are panning out following a lacklustre seventh-place finish in qualifying and the race, trailing two spots behind Russell in each.
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While Mercedes have maintained that they're remaining impartial, Hamilton hinted at a sense of inequality, reports the Express. He said: "I anticipated it would be difficult to out-qualify George because he has the upgraded component, but it's just great to see that we are bringing upgrades. But once we got to qualifying... I don't understand.
"I already know automatically that I'm going to lose two-tenths going into qualifying, and that's definitely frustrating and it's something that I don't really have an answer for at the moment. I'm not driving any different, the laps were really great, just lacking something.
Lewis Hamilton fears Mercedes are favouring Russell over him (Getty Images)"I don't anticipate being ahead of George in qualifying particularly this year, but we've just got to keep pushing, and the races are strong." When asked to expand on his why he thinks that, Hamilton vaguely responded: "We'll see."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff once again insisted that both Hamilton and Russell are receiving equal treatment, suggesting the former might be overthinking the situation. The team principal questioned: "Aren't all drivers a bit sceptical at times?
"As a team we have always demonstrated - even in the most tense competitions between team-mates - that we are always trying to balance what is right and be transparent and fair.
"I can understand as a driver you want the best out of yourself and the team, and sometimes when it is going against you you can question that. But as a team we are 100 per cent on a mission of giving both drivers the best possible cars and strategies.
"We are trying to do the best out of the relationship (with Hamilton), trying to maximise the results for what is our final season together. And that situation between drivers and teams can be tense at times because everybody wants to do the best."
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