Qualifying head-to-head
Russell 10-4 Hamilton
The qualifying head-to-head between the two Mercedes drivers ignited plenty of conversation earlier in the season. That came after Hamilton said in Monaco he didn’t anticipate being ahead of Russell in qualifying many times this year, pointing to upgrades his younger team mate had been given ahead of him at the time.
“All drivers [are] a bit sceptical at times,” Team Principal Toto Wolff said in response to those comments, and the team’s uptick in performance and pace has pushed this particular talking point to the wayside.
That said, Russell’s skill over one lap has really shone this year – as shown by his head-to-head record, as well as the pole positions secured in Canada (where he memorably set the exact same time as Verstappen) and at Silverstone.
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Race head-to-head
Russell 8-6 Hamilton
It’s the younger Briton who takes this head-to-head again, but Hamilton is the man who leads when it comes down to points scored (150 compared to Russell’s 116), points finishes (13 to Russell’s 11) and also podiums (four compared to his team mate’s two).
There’s also the fact he has two victories to Russell’s one – your comments on the Spa disqualification can be inserted here – which means Hamilton is the only driver other than Verstappen to win more than one race this year.
It should be noted Russell has had three DNFs versus Hamilton’s one, with the man from King’s Lynn particularly unlucky in the British Grand Prix when he looked in the fight for victory but had to retire with a water system issue.