George Russell Gets Homework on Fernando Alonso’s Racing Tactics; Ex-Ferrari Boss Urges the Brit to Learn From Lewis Hamilton

Remember how, at the start of the season, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were confident about the W15 and how they made comments about the car feeling nicer to the driver compared to the W13 and W14? Well, regardless, the struggles continue for Mercedes and its drivers after a torrid Australian GP. 

George Russell, who crashed on the last lap, has been asked to learn from Lewis Hamilton and educate himself on Fernando Alonso’s racing tactics. Right when, he was having a miserable Australian GP, racing in a P7 behind Fernando Alonso, Alonso tried to be the wild old fox that he is and slowed earlier into Turn 6 to get a better exit, but doing so put Russell behind him. As a result, the Brit lost control of his car and crashed into the barrier on the final lap. 

After the race, Fernando Alonso, and George Russell were called to the stewards, and Alonso was handed a drive-through penalty, i.e., 20 seconds added to his race time. Peter Windsor, in his recent podcast, was asked about the incident and whether Russell was going too fast into that corner. Windsor talked about how Russell was just thrown by what Alonso was doing.

Windsor went on to explain how George Russell and every other driver should study and watch other drivers to predict what they can do. He said, “If you’re George Russell, you should spend a lot of time looking at videos or old films of races and learning about the guys on the grid and how they drive and things they’ve done in the past. You build up the book in your brain that Fernando did that in the past, he is quite capable of doing that again. This is what Lance Stroll does, this is what Magnussen does. So you have a memory of him doing this or that, and that’s his weak point.”

He then continued and talked about how George Russell’s teammate is one of the drivers who knows the most about how the opponents drive and is able to use his ability to the best. 

Peter Windsor on George Russell’s teammate: “Lewis Hamilton able to read other drivers really well”

After the homework of asking Russell to watch videos of other drivers was given, Windsor moved to appreciate Russell’s teammate for his ability and skill to predict and read what other drivers would do in a corner or a specific spot. This is what makes him one of the best, and the Brit7X champ is hence able to think one step ahead and avoid any instances like Russell had in Australia. 

Peter Windsor said, “That’s one of the great things Lewis was able to do very early in his Formula 2 career” as he talked about Hamilton’s ability to read drivers. “He started to read other drivers really well, did it in Formula 1, and still does it in Formula 1. Which is one of the reasons he’s kept out of trouble a lot even when he’s not been on the front row the last couple of years. I’m not sure George and the next generation think that way. They probably think that the rulebooks define what you can do.”

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Do you think Fernando Alonso was at fault for this accident?