It was ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton claimed he is “built differently” and reaffirmed that retirement is not on his radar.

George Russell stated his agreement with that comment from Hamilton, his former Mercedes teammate. The seven-time world champion is set to realise a major milestone at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix by starting his 400th Grand Prix.

Russell concurs Lewis Hamilton is ‘built different’

Hamilton will join another ex-teammate of his, Fernando Alonso, in the F1 400 club this weekend.

How much further he will race on remains to be seen. He is not even ruling out realising the ambition of racing in Africa, a Grand Prix confirmed as returning to the continent in the 2030s.

“You’ve never had anyone like me here in the 70 years,” Hamilton had stated. “I feel that I’m built differently.”

He receives no complaints regarding that comment from Russell.

The pair spent three seasons together as Mercedes teammates between 2022-24.

“What he’s achieved on and off track has been incredible. He’s an inspiration to so many,” Russell said of Hamilton on the eve of the latter’s 400th start.

“The fact that he’s not had a year off just shows the sort of character he is, and yeah, he definitely is built different to a number of other athletes around the world.

“But that’s why he’s one of the best, one of the best ever, and he loves racing. He loves Formula 1, doesn’t have much interest in other racing series outside of Formula 1, because this is the pinnacle, and I respect that.”

That is in contrast to Hamilton’s former title rival Max Verstappen, who has become increasingly active in the GT racing scene over recent years, dovetailing that with his F1 commitments.

The Dutchman also recently defeated 100 amateur karters in emphatic fashion at Silverstone.

“I respect Verstappen on the other side, who’s got a lot of interest in other racing series outside [F1],” Russell continued. “There’s no right or wrong.

“But he’s [Hamilton] still going strong, and this season, it’s probably been his best season in Formula 1 since 2021.”

2025 world champion Lando Norris is also enjoying seeing the Hamilton resurgence.

After a challenging experience through Formula 1’s ground effect era, the new F1 2026 regulations have coincided with an upturn in Hamilton’s form.

“It’s pretty unbelievable what he’s been able to do for such a long time, even to now, to see him fighting against Charles [Leclerc],” Norris said of Hamilton.

“I think Charles is easily one of the best on the grid – insanely quick – and the fact that Lewis is still giving him a good fight, especially this year, I think everyone’s enjoyed the fact he was able to give Charles a better performance; not just give his teammate a better performance, but also look like he was getting more out of the car and achieving better results every time.

“So he certainly maybe seemed to not like the last few years as much in terms of the last few years of cars that we had, that kind of regulation. But he seemed to kind of look like he’s back to normal in terms of fighting at the front and proving that he’s one of the best out there, so I think it’s a pretty incredible achievement for him to fight for this long.

“He’s been an inspiration for many of us. I certainly don’t think I’m going that far but it’s a good thing to look forward to in terms of my career. And I know I was happy with one championship, but when I look at Lewis, he makes me not very happy to have only won one championship.

“But that’s in a good way that I can look at him and see him at his age, in his form, and it makes me believe more than ever that I can fight for many, many more years, and that’s something I look forward to doing.”