Although George Russell’s status as the Mercedes team leader is assured, his choice for a future teammate may now raise concerns.
According to reports, Mercedes and Fernando Alonso are in talks as Toto Wolff plans to directly replace Lewis Hamilton, who is headed to Ferrari, with the two-time world champion. George Russell, who experienced some “potentially dangerous” driving from the Spaniard in Australia, might not be too fond of this move.
After Hamilton announced his departure from the Silver Arrows at the end of the season, Wolff began searching for a replacement. Although Carlos Sainz, the winner of the Australian Grand Prix, is single and Esteban Ocon is a member of the Mercedes family, he is apparently considering Alonso for the position.
Mercedes has reportedly already spoken with Alonso’s representatives, and the 42-year-old has a “good chance” of being given a drive with the Silver Arrows for the 2025 campaign, according to the German newspaper Bild.
Mercedes will have one of the strongest driver lineups on the grid if Alonso teams up with Russell for the upcoming season. However, after a dubious moment at the Australian Grand Prix, some work on the internal dynamics of that partnership may need to be done.
Russell and Alonso had been fighting for P6, with the latter getting as close as half a second on the last lap. The Aston Martin driver surprised his rival by applying the brakes earlier than normal as the cars neared turn six. This caused the Mercedes driver to spin out into the gravel and end the race.
Russell came to rest in the middle of the track after rebounding off the wall outside turn seven. He then yelled over the team radio for the red flag to be raised. Luckily, no cars were on that stretch of the track right after the incident, preventing a terrifying second impact.
Russell spoke with Sky Sports F1 about Alonso’s antics following the race, saying, “It’s clear he braked 100m before the corner and was back on the throttle again and took the corner normally.” We’ve previously seen the relevant data.”
“I’m not going to accuse him of anything until we see further,” he continued. He led me by the nose for a long, long lap. Before the turn, I trailed him by a mere half a second. He then abruptly slowed down considerably and resumed his speed.
Because of the stewards’ disapproval of Alonso’s defensive maneuvers, the veteran Spaniard was demoted from P6 to P8 and given a 20-second post-race penalty and three points on his super license following a protracted review process.
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