George Russell - Underrated or Overhyped?
There was plenty of discussion in pre-season about how George Russell would cope against Lewis Hamilton, with many suggesting he could be blown away by the 7-time Champion.
This was far from the case, with Russell establishing himself early in the season with strong performances despite the inconsistencies of the W13.
However, there is now a fierce debate about whether Russell's current points fairly reflect his level - or if fortune has been on his side.
An impressive start
Russell quickly developed a reputation for consistency in his first races at Mercedes, seemingly allergic to finishing outside of the top 5 in the first half of the season.
The calibre of Russell's teammate must also be stressed, so there is no shame in having occasional dips in performance or - as has been the case - being outclassed by Hamilton from time to time.
However, these dips were uncommon for Russell when the season began, whilst a combination of set-up experimentation and bad luck (Spain, Miami, Australia) impacted Hamilton's early points haul.
Hamilton must also take responsibility for a poor weekend in Imola, but Russell's strong start was still grabbing all the headlines.
Russell deserves immense credit for adjusting at Mercedes so quickly, but the extreme conclusions made at the start of the season are ultimately returning to haunt him at the end of the season.
Hamilton's resurgence
Lewis Hamilton always drives at an elite level, but the 7-time Champion traditionally improves his performance as the year progresses.
It is unclear how severely Hamilton was impacted by Mercedes desperately trying to unlock the W13's potential with aggressive set-ups, but his form objectively improved after these 'experiments' stopped.
Even before then, Hamilton demonstrated exceptional pace at the start of the season. Hamilton produced elite performances in Spain, Britain and Hungary, the likes of which Russell has generally failed to replicate.
Russell certainly deserves credit for driving at a consistently high level, but Hamilton's high points in 2022 have been notably higher.
Once again, Russell deserves credit for even being plausibly compared to Lewis Hamilton, but the 103-time race winner has shown exactly why he is so outrageously decorated.
Russell's dip
The last four Grand Prix have arguably been Russell's worst in F1, with the 24-year-old performing especially poorly in Singapore and America.
Such sub-par weekends are to be expected for any driver, let alone someone competing at the front of F1 for the first time.
In this sense, Russell can be described as a victim of his early success, with praise for his relentless consistency never likely to sustain itself throughout the whole season against such elite opposition.
However, perhaps his recent wheel-to-wheel incidents are worth paying more attention to.
The Singapore GP was arguably Russell's worse in 2022, responsible for hitting Valtteri Bottas and Mick Schumacher in two incidents where he demonstrated poor racecraft and awareness.
Russell's turn-one contact in America opened Pandora's box for discussion on his racecraft this year, with his incidents throughout the season receiving a heightened spotlight.
Despite what the standings suggest, there is still plenty of room for improvement before he can be compared with F1's very best.
Conclusion
George Russell's start to the season was impressive, but the shock value of his points advantage exaggerated his actual level.
Whilst he deserves all the praise for holding his own against Lewis Hamilton, Russell was doomed to disappoint when there were suggestions that he was on the same level as Hamilton.
Again, it must be stressed how quickly Russell has adjusted to life at the front of F1, but his recent incidents still highlight there is plenty of progress to be made.
Russell is definitely not the finished article and is still a few steps behind the likes of Hamilton and Verstappen.
However, considering Russell is in his fourth season in F1, he can be pleased even to be discussed alongside some of the sport's best.