Mercedes driver George Russell reacted angrily in practice ahead of the Australian Grand Prix after teammate Lewis Hamilton got in his way on track in Melbourne.
George Russell unleashed his rage at Lewis Hamilton after believing he was hampered by his Mercedes teammate on track in Melbourne.
Hamilton stepped in the way of his fellow Silver Arrows driver during Saturday morning’s final practice. Russell couldn’t contain his irritation, clearly believing that this was not an unusual incidence.
“Guys, I always find Lewis at s**t points on the track, every time,” he said over the radio. Fortunately for the Brits, because it was simply practice, it was not an expensive delay, and they were able to continue with their various plans as planned.
Russell eventually overcame his teammate later in the day to outqualify Hamilton for the fourth time. He will start 11th on the grid for Sunday’s race, while the seven-time Formula One champion did not even make the top ten.
Hamilton will start 11th on the grid and complained about his troublesome car after the session. He stated, “It felt wonderful in FP3, which was unusual because we were right there with those guys and didn’t really understand why. But then in qualifying… the car’s unreliability really messes with my thoughts.”
When asked about the faults with his W15, Hamilton answered, “There’s a lengthy list. I believe our car is on a razor edge. In the afternoon, the wind picks up here, as it did in FP2. When the wind picks up, the car becomes significantly more unsteady.
“This morning was lovely with the gentler wind, but after the wind started up, it became more unsteady. I’m not sure why the others seemed to speed up during qualifying. However, despite using lighter gasoline than in FP3, qualifying did not feel the same. It’s not a good feeling for anyone on the team, but we’ll keep working hard.”
Mercedes experimented in practice but were unable to unlock any further speed from their vehicles. When asked about Russell and Hamilton’s aggregate qualifying scores, team boss Toto Wolff commented, “It’s especially disappointing because we were within a tenth in FP3.” The conditions were slightly different, but there is no excuse. We have a tough car in which you can only get in or out through the window.
“As much as I’ve been angry with myself for saying this for so long, we just need to keep working on it. that is not for a lack of effort, but we are where we are, and that is not good enough.
“It’s an illusion to get closer to Red Bull in the short term, but I still believe there’s more to this car.” This morning, it wasn’t a bad car, but it’s difficult to get in and out of the performance window, and we need to keep working on it.
