“What the hell, two races in a row,” George Russell vents on team radio over clash with Lewis Hamilton on Qatar GP lap one
The chaotic Qatar GP start was frustrating for the Silver Arrow racers, and it might reduce their chances of securing constructors championship P2.
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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via IMAGO)
The Qatar GP started with Max Verstappen on the Pole, then George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in third. Hamilton had a faster strategy as he began to on softs and was supposed to have a better pace than his teammate Russell on Mediums.
As the lights went out, Hamilton had a great reaction time and wanted to overtake both the racers ahead of him. In turn 1, Hamilton tried taking the outside line to overtake both the racers. He had an amazing start, and this felt like a cakewalk to overtake both of them.
As soon as he was half a car length ahead of Russell, Hamilton turned in on Russell and sandwiched him in between Verstappen and his car. This resulted in a crash of both the silver arrow racers. This led to Hamilton losing his tire, eliminating him from the race. Russell spun out but managed to hold the race and hence, kept racing for the team.
Obviously frustrated, Russell ranted on Team Radio about the incident and said, “Guys, come on, what the hell, two races in a row,” clearly indicating his frustration. He claimed he was sandwiched between the two cars and had nowhere to go.
He later apologized and took the blame and said, “So sorry guys I wasn’t even looking behind I was just so focused on the race ahead, I’m f**king lost for words honestly, I couldn’t do anything I was sandwiched”
Mercedes garage responds to the crash
Immediately during the incident, His race engineer asked over the radio if he was okay. Lewis Hamilton replied, “I got out taken out by my teammate, sorry guys,” shifting the blame to Russell.
Russel’s team engineer replied, “Keep your head down and race” and even Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, absent for today’s race due to his recovery from knee surgery, said, “George lets race now and make the best out of it.” Trying to dissolve the situation further.
Russell later pitted for a tire change under the safety car due to the contact with his teammate. It seems as if Russell doesn’t have major car damage after the impact, hence allowing him to get back in the race to try and overtake the racers behind.
In case you missed it:
- Ralf Schumacher claims the only thing special about Qatar GP is Max Verstappen not winning Sprint on title clinching night
- Why did Carlos Sainz quit the 2023 Qatar GP?
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Justin P Joy
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