Mercedes has been accused of making a mistake in signing George Russell as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate.
Some Lewis Hamilton fans have accused Mercedes of making a mistake in hiring George Russell to replace Valtteri Bottas last season, following Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
It was an eventful race for Mercedes and arguably for all the wrong reasons, as Hamilton and Russell spent more time fighting each other than the other drivers.
The first of the duo’s three battles at Suzuka took place in the opening laps, with Russell passing brilliantly in the final stages. The tug-of-war continued into Turn 1, when Hamilton regained his position with the help of DRS.
Hamilton then opened up a small gap to his 25-year-old teammate, before the seven-time world champion retired at Turn 9 on lap 16.
This allowed Russell to attack from turns 12 to turns 13 and 14, where the Mercedes drivers were together.
Hamilton maintained the inside line and position, but ran wide, sending both drivers slightly off the circuit.
The incident was noted by the stewards but no investigation was ordered, although Russell was disappointed by Hamilton’s behaviour. Russell then switched to a one-stop strategy after the incident, sending him into the closing stages.
However, due to poor tire wear compared to those following the two-stop strategy, the former Williams driver dropped to seventh place by the end of the race.
One of the drivers who managed to get past was Hamilton, although the team had to ask Russell to give the 103-time race winner a pass.
The two stayed together longer than necessary, allowing Carlos Sainz to catch up.
Hamilton is fifth, two places ahead of Russell. Their battle has now convinced Hamilton fans that Mercedes made a mistake in signing Russell, who one supporter called “responsible”.
“As I said last week, signing Russell was a mistake. I just don’t think it will be proven every week. He will be a burden in a championship scenario,” @F1_Jordan wrote on Twitter/X.
Some fans agree with this point of view and criticize Mercedes for not making it clear who their number one driver is. “Certainly, I expected more from Mercedes in terms of driver management. I don’t recognize this team at all.
Leave a Reply