Mercedes‘ revamped pace boosted George Russell’s morale on Friday in Spain. “It was encouraging to see Lewis (Hamilton) top the timesheets, and we were consistently at the front,” he said post-FP2. But the same level of respect for his teammate went missing after during qualifying. A mysterious event transpired in Q3, that brought Russell’s frustration with Hamilton’s actions to the surface.

The new flexi wing on Mercedes’ W15 has been the game-changer. But their off-track challenges rose ahead of the Spanish GP with two pivotal events. Firstly, Red Bull questioned the legality of their new front wing, putting them in the spotlight. Secondly, Toto Wolff launched a police investigation into an anonymous email sender who claimed they were willingly ‘sabotaging’ their departing 7-time champion. However, the drivers remained unaffected and appeared to be even in better spirits.

However, come qualifying, the camaraderie disappeared in Q3. Hamilton led Russell out of the pits for their first flying laps of the session. The 7x champ went quicker by only 2-hundredths of a second than Russell to secure P3. Though everything seemed normal, after coming into the pits, the 26-year-old Briton was unhappy. “What the f*** is Lewis doing, prepping that lap?” he said on the team radio, indicating his teammate might’ve slowed him down. “It’s fine,” his race engineer replied, adding, “We’ll talk about it afterwards. Head in the game.”

Eventually, in their second round of flying laps, they finished in the same position, ruling out the possibility of Hamilton disrupting Russell’s earlier lap. The young Briton’s fiery radio message can also be attributed to the rising pressure he’s dealing with.

George Russell is succumbing to the pressure of driver market rumors

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff hasn’t held back when announcing his interest in signing Max Verstappen for 2025. The reigning, 3-time champion replacing a 7-time champion would be Mercedes’ ideal scenario. The Austrian has even spoken highly of 17-year-old prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli. But amidst these options, at no point has Russell been shown enough confidence to lead them once Lewis Hamilton departs.

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has also highlighted the mountain of pressures that Russell faces. “If Max Verstappen really decides to leave Red Bull, I can imagine that there will be a seat for him at Mercedes,” the German said continuing, “Then it could be rather bad for George Russell. He is or was a super talent, but he also makes a lot of mistakes. If there is a world champion on the market, I can imagine that George Russell’s job could also be in danger.”

Starting P4 on the grid, Russell’s focus should be to capitalize on the front-row occupants’ mistakes, if any. Unless the thought of not letting his teammate outperform him starts plaguing him, Mercedes is well-placed to secure a double podium. Hopefully, no strategic mishaps, like in Canada, come between them and the podium. What’s your take on Ralf Schumacher’s explanation? Share your thoughts in the comments below.