Fans spot George Russell's gesture to Lewis Hamilton on new onboard footage from F1 testing

Fans spotted George Russell’s gesture towards Lewis Hamilton during the third and final day of pre-season testing on Friday.

Russell, 27, and Hamilton, 40, were previously teammates at Mercedes for three years before the seven-time F1 champion made the switch to Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season.

And despite the pair now representing different teams, the mutual respect between them is still there for all to see.

This was evident during the day three of pre-season testing which took place at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.

While the pair were both on the track, Russell appeared to wave at Hamilton as he passed him and fans were quick to give their thoughts on the wholesome moment.

One said: "Mercedes teammates past and present sharing a moment during testing. George with the friendly wave as their paths cross. The respect between drivers never fades even as teams change."

Another added: "That’s a nice gesture from George, well done, good sportsmanship."

A third commented: "Well wholesome this."

Russell’s new Mercedes teammate is 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has dominated the junior circuits in recent times but filling Hamilton's boots will be difficult.

“Naturally, it does feel different, of course," Russell said in a press conference on Wednesday.

“But I think everybody within the team is very much excited for this next chapter, really.

"As the team look back on fond memories, I also feel grateful to have had that chance, being his team mate for three years and learning so much from him. Also going head-to-head with him directly.

“It kind of feels like the end of a chapter, but then you’re looking forward to the next journey. It’s very much for us and Mercedes… we’re looking forward and not backwards."

Meanwhile, Hamilton explained how being "with Scuderia Ferrari HP and in the SF-25" was "incredible" and insisted the aim of testing was "on experimenting with different things, gathering as much data as possible and getting familiar with the car".

The first race of the 2025 campaign will take place at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia on March 16. Hamilton will hoping to win his eighth title, which would see him become the all-time record World Drivers' Championship holder.