F1 pundit claims Mercedes has no control over Lewis Hamilton-George Russell drama

Hamilton is currently chasing Sergio Perez for P2 in the WDC Standings.

F1 pundit claims Mercedes has no control over Lewis Hamilton-George Russell drama

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via IMAGO)

Judging from the past few races, it seems like Mercedes is yet again to see another in-team rivalry. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been trying to make the best out of their races, even if it is at the expense of the other. Hamilton’s aggressive move around Russell’s outside in Qatar cost him his race in the first lap. After the incident, F1 pundit Peter Windsor claimed that the situation between the two drivers was already out of Mercedes’ control.

Windsor bluntly claimed that Mercedes can now do nothing about the rising tensions between the duo. He gave the reason for Mercedes’ current predicament to be their choice of drivers. He said that both drivers will not compromise their results for the other, which is bound to result in some friction between them. Windsor also claimed that Qatar was not the last of such instances which will take place between them.

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“Because in this situation, when you’ve got Lewis Hamilton, who’s never going to be anything other than the seven-times World Champion who wants to win a Grand Prix… That accident was a straight result of choosing to have a driver, an aggressive fast racer like George Russell in the other car,” said Windsor, as per Crash.

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Hamilton’s elimination in Qatar greatly hurt Mercedes’ chance to extend their lead over Ferrari. As only five races remain in this season, it remains to be seen whether the Brit duo can put their differences aside to take Mercedes to P2 in the Constructors’ Championship this year.

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Mercedes reveal how George Russell was able to finish P4 despite an early incident in the Qatar GP

George Russell had a very commendable race in Qatar. The Briton was sandwiched between Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Turn One at the start of the race, due to which he collided with Hamilton. This incident saw him end up on P18 at the very first turn. However, he displayed an impressive drive as he climbed up 14 positions to finish P4.  Mercedes Trackside Engineer Andrew Shovlin revealed how this became possible.

George Russell
George Russell (Credits: IMAGO)

Shovlin revealed that their early predictions had included that Russell would be in the lower side of the top ten. However, he made some early overtakes and passed some key cars. Shovlin said that their predicted position kept on improving, ultimately reaching P4.

“He was able to overtake, he was able to get through some key cars early on and also once he got into free air, we could see that the race pace was actually really good,” said Shovlin.

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