“Worst Thing a Racing Driver Can Ever Do”: George Russell Reprimanded for Spiteful Tactic Against Lewis Hamilton With a Demand for Stern Penalty

When George Russell got his promotion to Mercedes back in 2022, few imagined him beating Lewis Hamilton. While he achieved this feat with some style, things have been quite mixed since then. Racing in the Mercedes W14, George Russell has had a jolly time on the track. But, he’s also had his share of unfortunate incidents, like the contact with Max Verstappen in Baku or the starting position infringement in Miami. On top of this, one F1 fan noticed a peculiar aspect that others may have missed to notice.

The person asked journalist Peter Windsor on his YouTube Live why Russell seems to be let off easily despite such incidents. And Windsor agreed to it, criticizing George for the same while also citing his untimely swerve on teammate Lewis Hamilton in Q2 of the Spanish GP.

On his YouTube Live, Windsor said, “I noticed that you haven’t mentioned nearly causing a massive accident on the straight in Q2 in Spain with his teammate, Lewis Hamilton. To me, it was absolutely the worst thing a racing driver can ever do. To pull out on the straight when somebody else is going much quicker than you, and about to pass you, and hit them? That’s how we lost Gilles Villeneuve.”

Windsor even believes that Russell should have been handed a much bigger punishment for the same. He said, “I’m absolutely staggered George didn’t get a much much stiffer penalty for that. That is so much worse than anything else he’s done. Somebody needs to be doing something about that because this is inexcusable. I’m not talking about a few penalties, but a three-race suspension.”

Read More: 38-Year-Old Lewis Hamilton Warned of Threatening Obstacle at Mercedes as His “Motivation” Comes Under Scrutiny

It was quite poetic to see two Mercedes cars tangling in Barcelona. Toto Wolff certainly would have got flashbacks of the Rosberg-Hamilton saga from 2016. Still, this incident did not reach those levels of intensity. Regardless, it was a big mistake by Russell, yet Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin cited it was all a misunderstanding.

Consolation for George Russell as Mercedes Backs Him

The FIA gave a formal warning to George Russell and Mercedes owing to his untimely swerve on Hamilton. Russell claimed that he was not informed by the team about Hamilton starting his flying lap behind him. Shovlin explained the situation in Mercedes’ post-race debriefs.

According to him, all drivers were looking for a tow from another driver who’s just got done with their flying lap, to gain an extra tenth or so. And unfortunately, both the Mercedes drivers chose Carlos Sainz for the tow. While Russell waited for Sainz to complete his lap, he failed to notice Hamilton right behind Sainz.

This led to both Mercedes drivers having to abandon their lap, owing to the collision that arose from miscommunication. Despite the incident, both drivers are still on good terms. And that kind of relationship between the drivers is exactly what Mercedes needs to perform better as a team.

WATCH THIS STORY | Watch: Lewis Hamilton Gets Past Flashbacks Against George Russell at the 2023 Spanish GP