Lewis Hamilton brands Mercedes’ order to give George Russell DRS on the final laps at Suzuka as ‘senseless’
Hamilton expressed that the team should be grateful for their fifth and seventh positions, as it's more favourable than ending up in sixth and seventh positions.
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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via IMAGO)
Lewis Hamilton secured a P5 finish at the Japanese GP, overtaking his teammate George Russell after they decided to swap positions on the final laps. Russell wasn’t in favor of the move; instead, he wanted Hamilton to stay back and make a DRS train. Hamilton pointed out that the decision to grant DRS to his teammate would have had a bad impact on their race results and, hence, was a senseless call.
The Mercedes duo started the race at P7 and P8 at the Suzuka. On the 48th lap, Russell was in P5, with Hamilton and Carlos Sainz trailing behind. Russell suggested using Sainz’s Singapore GP maneuver to keep the Ferrari in the back. They decided to swap cars, with Hamilton granting Russell DRS. However, they could not achieve what they aimed for, as Sainz finished ahead of Russell after Hamilton was forced to push following Sainz’s overtake of his teammate.
Acknowledging their race results, Hamilton admitted that using the DRS strategy wasn’t necessary. He said the team should be grateful for their fifth and seventh positions, as it’s more favorable than ending up in sixth and seventh positions.
“I don’t think it was a good idea,….When they suggested it to me, I knew that they obviously thought of it from the last race, and it made no sense. Then he[Russell] got the DRS, but then he got overtaken….because he was on a one-stop….we’ve got to be grateful for fifth and seventh. It’s better than the sixth and seventh,” said Lewis Hamilton, as reported by racingnews365.com
George Russell Stated that radio messages act like a venting tool for drivers
As both Mercedes drivers fiercely fought each other throughout the race, George Russell, in acknowledgment of their intense battle, expressed his frustration on the team radio and questioned whether their focus should shift towards defeating other competitors instead of each other. Acknowledging his heated team radio messages, Russell said he vented his frustration over the radio because of their failed strategic attempt to keep Sainz in his DRS trail.
“I mean when you’re in the car and 48 laps in, you’ve given it everything, you’re trying to make a suboptimal strategy [work]. Radio is a bit of a venting tool towards releasing some frustration,” he said.
Russell acknowledged that swapping positions with his teammate was not the right call. He pointed out that overtaking on the track was challenging, even for drivers with fresher tires and faster cars.
? "We managed to get ahead of Sainz which was great teamwork and good work from the guys in the pit stop and the strategy group. That was the maximum we could have achieved."
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 24, 2023
Lewis, George and Shov debrief the #JapaneseGP. ?
“You saw Oscar Piastri with much fresher tyres and a much faster car this weekend, he didn’t fly by, you know? It took him two laps to achieve that, he only just achieved it,” added Russell.
In case you missed it:
- Lewis Hamilton claims he’ll talk ‘offline’ with George Russell over their unnecessary on-track tussle in Suzuka
- WATCH: “Hope that clown Perez never races again”- Fans furious as Sergio Perez hits and pushes Lewis Hamilton onto the grass at the Japanese GP
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Tanishka Sharma
(31 Articles Published)