Lewis Hamilton benefitted from George Russell’s crash, claims Helmut Marko

Lewis Hamilton benefitted from George Russell’s crash, claims Helmut Marko

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff hit out at George Russell after he crashed with Valtteri Bottas at the Imola GP, ending the latter’s race. The Austrian blamed the reserve Mercedes driver for his reckless move on Bottas, as both drivers slid into the gravel. The crash came just moments after Lewis Hamilton went off into the gravel, chasing Max Verstappen.

As a result, Hamilton fell down to the ninth place, but he was awarded a golden opportunity, as the race was red-flagged due to the Russell-Bottas crash. Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko says Wolff should see the positive side of the crash, as Hamilton got ahead in the restart and made a quick recovery, eventually finishing P2.

“Toto has to look at the bigger picture,” RacingNews365 quotes Marko as having told Servus TV. “Because of Russell’s move Hamilton was able to return to the race. Without that crash from Russell he would have lost a lap,” he added.

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Russell is a world-class driver: F1 journalist

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F1 journalist, Mark Hughes believes that Toto Wolff cannot blame George Russell for the clash, and stated that young Brit is a world class driver. He believes that it is Wolff’s decision to not promote Russell to Mercedes’ first-choice driver, which has left him competing for a ninth place finish, rather than a podium finish.

“Russell is a world-class driver who could have won a grand prix already in a Mercedes. He knows that and proved it to the world at Sakhir last year. He feels he could be fighting for titles but is in a third year of scrabbling for an elusive solitary point with Williams,” Hughes wrote.

“It was perhaps inevitable that given the trigger of racing wheel-to-wheel against the very car he feels should be his, there would be an incident. No matter how mature beyond his years or how many assurances have been made,” he added.

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