In a Close 2023 Fight, George Russell’s Competitive Goals Cited to Influence His Dangerous Move Against Lewis Hamilton: “Closed the Door”

Is Lewis Hamilton back to his winning ways? Despite being F1’s most successful driver of all time, having won seven world championships and a record 103 Grand Prix wins, Hamilton didn’t win a race after 2021. On the other hand, George Russell beat Hamilton in their first season together and reached a level playing field with Formula 1’s most successful driver. However, with the Brackley-based team bringing upgrades coming into the Monaco GP, the future’s looking brighter for the F1 hero. 

With Mercedes bringing upgrades to the narrow streets of Monte Carlo- ultimately a place not ideal for testing- uncertainty mongered in the future of the team. However, coming into the Spanish GP weekend, the upgrades worked so beautifully, especially for Hamilton. The 33-year-old seemed far more comfortable and faster than Russell in the qualifying. But the Mercedes duo hit one another as they approached the first corner towards the end of Q2, damaging the older Briton’s front wing. However, both seemed unaware that the other was looking to launch a flying lap. While Russell couldn’t make it through to Q3, the collision cost Hamilton a potential place on the front row. However, post-race, both the drivers understood the situation and agreed on the misunderstanding as the cause of contact. 

But the former German driver Ralf Schumacher doesn’t believe in the dynamics of a simple misunderstanding. Explaining his analysis of the clash, Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland, “George didn’t want to give Lewis a slip and closed the door for him. This is my analysis. The young challenger wants to take the place of the pack leader. And they don’t get along very well in private either” [translated via Google]

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By the looks of it, Ralf Schumacher could be right because Hamilton slammed Russell for a “really dangerous” maneuver after the qualifying. 

Hamilton plays down rivalry with Russell: ‘It was a misunderstanding 

Although Lewis Hamilton chose not to criticize George Russell publicly after the clash during the Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying, he accused Russell of the contact. It was in the closing moments of Q2 that the two Brits made contact, as Hamilton was trying to overtake the young Briton. Although Russell had the inside line, he did not leave enough track for Hamilton, resulting in the collision. Unimpressed by what happened, Hamilton immediately fumed over the team radio, saying, “George just backed off. That’s really dangerous. I might have some damage on the car.”

However, Russell, seemingly unaware of Hamilton behind him, responded over his own radio channel: “You didn’t tell me there was a car behind,” before adding, “Yeah, sorry guys, I don’t know what the hell went on in the session.”

But when asked Hamilton about the collision after the qualifying, accusing Russell, he said, “That’s really dangerous. I might have some damage on the car,” before swiftly skating over the incident, and adding: “The car didn’t feel massively different. Afterwards, the car was pulling to the right. It was just a miscommunication thing. On the lap it was feeling okay so hopefully, it will be alright.”

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Despite the collision, Hamilton managed to make it through to Q3 and went fifth fastest in that final part of the session, while Russell could manage only 12th on the timesheets.