The Mercedes Formula 1 team dominated the series from 2014 to 2021, constantly winning eight constructors’ titles in a row. They have flourished dramatically in the past few years with outstanding achievements leaving behind a legacy in the F1 Industry. However, the team was soon dominated by Red Bull followed by Ferrari to recently in the Singapore Grand Prix.
While the team has constant pressure to rebound and prove to be phenomenal once again, they recently, had to struggle in team coordination in the Suzuka Circuit as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell got into a disagreement on the ground.
Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff talks about outburst between Hamilton and Russell
Toto Wolff, despite being unable to be present, was aware of the continuous fury between the drivers and ultimately ruled that George let Lewis through in the closing stages when the strategists were debating whether to order a reversal of the cars or agree to George’s request that Lewis stay behind until the last lap so they could resist Sainz together according to an official post in Twitter. He also stated that he must stop the tension between George and Lewis before it boils over.
Bradley Lord who was there in Toto’s absence, alongside Jerome d’Ambrosio – said: “They race each other hard on a hard-racing track. It’s easy to read a lot into those radio messages in the heat of the moment. As always, we talk about it away from the pressure and the high temperatures of the cockpit in the debrief after.
“That’s where anything gets tidied up that needs tidying up. The one-stop worked for Lewis. With George, he was ahead of Alonso. It offered an opportunity to Sainz. It didn’t quite work out ultimately but it was worth a gamble.”
Mercedes lost further ground to Ferrari in the race for second in the constructors’ championship behind Red Bull. The circuit has seen heat between Rosberg and Lewis earlier, costing the Silver Arrows dearly. Are we looking at the onset of something similar must be food for thought!
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell involved in altercation at Japanese GP
As mentioned earlier, there was a noticeable cold war between the Mercedes drivers at the Japanese Grand Prix. The pair started the race alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid, with Hamilton P7 ahead of Russell in eighth.
Hamilton made a strong start but was soon dominated in the opening lap by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez leaving him with damage, but he persisted in defending his spot which left Russell frustrated.
Neither driver held back as they battled for position until Hamilton was forced wide again and made his first pit stop on lap 16. Russell stayed out until lap 24 on a one-stop strategy Russell’s pace rapidly declined in the closing laps. This time it was Hamilton’s turn to complain about his teammate backing him up. Russell sounded very frustrated when ordered to let Hamilton pass through.
“Who do we want to fight here, each other or the others?” Russell snapped out as Hamilton went on to finish in fifth, while Russell also lost out to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and ended seventh.
Once things cooled down, Hamilton agreed with Russell that overall they had achieved the best possible outcome in the circumstances. “I think as a team we’ve got to be grateful for fifth and seventh. It’s better than sixth and seventh.”
“It was a hell of a fight. I was trying to hold on. We did manage 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 today.”
Do you think George Russell will create more problems in the future despite being a rookie? Do let us know in the comment section below!
