Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had memorable radio exchanges during which Lewis Hamilton laughed off another request and George Russell lamented the lack of teamwork.
During a miserable Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t contain his laughter when Mercedes asked him to pick up the pace.
Early on, both Mercedes drivers made up ground thanks to excellent starts off the line. However, tyre degradation proved to be a significant factor and it impacted the Silver Arrows more than most, just like it did in the Sprint the day before.
In the beginning, George Russell had stated he would not attack his teammate and that they should cooperate. However, it appeared that Hamilton missed the memo because he left his teammate exposed when he pulled out of DRS range.
Russell was quickly overtaken by Sergio Perez, and Hamilton was left defenseless and unable to stop the Red Bull. Russell expressed his annoyance over the radio, which greatly irritated him.
When he was asked to manage his tires on the seventeenth lap, his move had not improved. “Do you want me to give up ground or race? He shot back, “I will go backwards with more management.”
And later, when he came across Hamilton on track who was going more slowly, he waited patiently behind while Carlos Sainz caught up. He then broke his silence to say: “I haven’t been on the radio because I thought it was quite obvious about the pace. Just sat here, not having the tyres.”
He clearly thought he should have been allowed past. And the Ferrari ended up ahead of both of them again as Mercedes continued to slip back in the order.
The moment that tickled Hamilton came ahead of the second round of pit stops. Preparing to bring the seven-time world champion in for fresh rubber, race engineer Pete Bonnington asked his driver to push hard and squeeze all remaining life out of his current set.
“Now let’s use the tires,” Bono said, evoking a giggle and a curt reply from Hamilton. “I have been for the last five laps, dude,” he answered, obviously finding it difficult to get his car to go at the desired speed.
Pierre Gasly later passed Hamilton, who came in only eighth place. Russell didn’t even get a checkered flag; instead, he was forced to retire just before the finish line due to high oil temperatures, which Mercedes claimed were increasing the likelihood of an engine failure.
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