The lap that should’ve gotten him on the front row puts him as far behind as P7. It was a dismal Lap 2 in SQ3 of the Sprint Qualifying for Lewis Hamilton. The issue that bothered the team in Hungary and led to George Russell getting eliminated in Q1 followed them all the way to Belgium – Good ol’ miscommunication. And to make things worse for Hamilton, Russell unknowingly impeded him. And Hamilton’s rather petite response has got Mercedes worried.

7 cars lined up at the last corner to start their last attempt at a flying lap in SQ3. Both the Mercedes cars, with Russell in front of Hamilton, were part of that queue. And they started their laps too close to each other which would eventually cause problems of proximity. To make the distance even shorter, Russell locked up and went deep into Turn 1. As a result, Hamilton got right alongside him before Eau Rouge. On the straight after the Eau Rouge-Raidillon ascent, Hamilton’s pace was such that Russell impeded him and spoiled both of their laps.

After the session, Russell called their performance a “Total mess from start to finish”. But Hamilton was a tad optimistic. He said, post-session, “Not happy about it, obviously. It was a really fun session. It was looking really great in the end. I reckon I could’ve been first or second in that session, on that last lap. Communication was pretty poor.”

But the 7-time champ lost his cool a bit when the interviewer persisted about the Russell incident. Hamilton sounded a bit off as he struggled to find words. But he couldn’t. Or at least he consciously chose not to answer, which has increased the tensions within the Mercedes garage. He said, “Umm… well, I mean… I was letting him… It doesn’t really matter.”

While Hamilton finished P7, Russell was the slowest in SQ3 with a P10 finish. And Russell looked  and sounded devastated by the result and lack of good communication.

Read More: Toto Wolff Dissects Lewis Hamilton’s Dominance Over George Russell With Inconclusive Explanation

George Russell In a “Downward Spiral” as Nothing Seems To Be Going His Way

In 2022, George Russell had taken over being the lead driver of Mercedes. And he carried a lot of that confidence into 2023 thinking he’ll keep out-qualifying Hamilton. Forget out-qualifying, he hasn’t even been able to match the 7-time champion. And he’s attributed it to being in a “bad rhythm”.

Right before Hamilton gave his interview, Russell did. He called the entire Belgian GP up till this point a “Total mess from start to finish”. And he believes that he’s going into a “downward spiral” and things just are “not clicking” for him. But the Briton did end things on a positive note keeping in mind the race pace of the W14. He said, “We’ll be quicker in the races”.

“Just scrappy, just messy, and unnecessary for them both,” said Will Buxton about the mix-up between the 2 Mercedes drivers. Such is the power of that statement that it holds true not just for today’s fiasco but also for their entire 2023 season.

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