Russell has consistently edged out Hamilton in qualifying in 2024. In 2024, Russell leads their qualifying battles 16-5, and he’s been quicker in four of the five Sprint Shootouts this year, as well as in direct race duels, where he leads 13-8.

Lewis Hamilton is braced for a frustrating end to his Mercedes career after trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin explained that the team will be using the remaining three races of the 2024 season as glorified test sessions to help George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for next year.

Lewis Hamilton’s first appearance for Ferrari is likely to be in a 2022 machine at the start of next year, with the driver and Mercedes having “jointly decided” against the seven-time world champion taking part in the post-season tyre test in Abu Dhabi for the Scuderia.