Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell caused drama in Qatar when their teammates collided.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has pointed the finger at Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, accusing them of breaking unwritten rules for Formula 1 drivers at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The violent collision between Hamilton and Russell on the first lap of Sunday’s race forced Hamilton’s first retirement of the season, leaving both drivers frustrated.
Starting third on the grid behind Russell in second, Hamilton attempted a daring move on the outside of the first corner to gain an advantage over his countryman.
However, as he overtook Russell, he misjudged the distance and collided with Russell’s car, resulting in a high-speed collision that forced Hamilton out of the race. Although Russell dropped to 19th place, he made an incredible comeback to finish in 4th place
Christian Horner criticized both men for not following the team’s basic rules: giving each other space and racing fairly.
He expected Mercedes to lead an internal discussion about the incident, saying: “I mean, I’m sure as a team you never want to see that.
“One thing you always ask your teammates is to give each other space, and it seems like that didn’t happen today.
“I’m sure they’re having their own internal discussion about that.”
This is not the first time Hamilton and Russell have faced off on the track as teammates.
Earlier in the season, they were criticized for an incident during the Spanish Grand Prix, which saw Hamilton forced onto the grass at high speed. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said this was a “misunderstanding”.
But their latest collision had even more serious consequences.
Although he initially expressed his disappointment in a radio message saying his teammate had “taken me out”, Hamilton later took full responsibility for the collision and apologized to Russell after the crash. racing.
He admitted his mistake, saying, “I just feel really sorry to my team.
“It was an opportunity today to get some good points.
“In the heat of the moment, I didn’t really understand what happened, I just obviously felt the tap from behind.
“But I don’t think George probably had anywhere to go, and yeah, it’s just one of those really unfortunate situations.
“I mean, I’m happy to take responsibility as the older one.”
After reviewing video footage of the incident, Hamilton further expressed his regret on social media, tweeting to his followers, “I’ve watched the replay, and it was 100 percent my fault, and I take full responsibility.
“Apologies to my team and to George.”
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