‘Lewis and George Weren’t Speaking’: Tom Clarkson Gives Post-War Update as Battle for No. 1 Continues in Toto Wolff’s Den

The 2023 Japanese GP raised a lot of questions surrounding the Mercedes camp’s inner state of affairs. If it wasn’t obvious, during the race in Suzuka, the team made the hierarchy abundantly clear. The scenario we are talking about is obviously when George Russell was ordered to swap positions with Lewis Hamilton. A frustrated Russell after getting the instructions begged to not swap to protect his position which eventually was a disastrous move by Mercedes. Now, we have come across some post-war updates between the two Mercedes men.

According to the F1 Nation podcast’s host Tom Clarkson, there were some tensions between the two drivers. Clarkson has revealed no dialogues were exchanged between Hamilton and Russell soon after the race. So Clarkson’s admission effectively discredits all of Mercedes’s efforts of painting a picture of unity, even after Russell claimed there is clear favoritism from Toto Wolff.

“Into talking about Mercedes because of course we saw Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Well, they weren’t talking straight after the race in Japan, were they? Because I think George felt that he’d been slightly done over by the team in terms of he was hoping he could use Lewis Hamilton as a buffer,” revealed Clarkson.

Of course, that did not happen and Russell finished behind Carlos Sainz. However, Clarkson also revealed how everyone in the Mercedes camp is claiming, “All’s well that ends well.”

Read More: Mercedes War Gets Uglier as George Russell Insults “Slower” Lewis Hamilton to Favor Max Verstappen

Perhaps all is well because the Mercedes men are professional enough to know the goal. Currently, that’s fighting Ferrari to defend their P2 spot in the championship. The two seemed on the same page about this objective.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell put all ill feelings aside to focus on the common goal

The roles from 2022 have reversed and Mercedes finds itself defending the runner-up spot in the constructor’s championship. The gap is down to 20 points and the team can swap positions every race until the end. Keeping in mind the huge bonuses of finishing on a certain position in the table, the Mercedes men have kept their rivalries aside and are focused on defending the No. 2 spot. Both Hamilton and Russell showcased that as their individual comments resonated the same idea after the Japanese GP.

Hamilton said, “Our ultimate goal is to try and get ahead of the Ferraris and that’s what my goal was today. It’s to beat the Ferraris in the constructor’s championship. That’s all that matters. We’re not fighting for a driver’s position in the championship because firstly we’re not close and secondly we’re not fighting for the championship so. Now it’s about just getting the maximum points for the team. I think that’s what we did here.”

Russell added, “At the end of the day, we need to score the maximum points possible. For me personally, the driver’s championship is totally out of the window this season. The objective is to finish P2 with the team ahead of Ferrari.“

The plan of action is clear in the Mercedes camp now we just need to wait and see how well they execute it over the remaining six races.

WATCH THIS STORY | Lewis Hamilton remains unwavering in his determination to halt Max Verstappen’s dominance, despite enduring significant neglect from the FIA