GEORGE RUSSELL DEMANDS MERCEDES TALKS OVER INCIDENT INVOLVING LEWIS HAMILTON
George Russell believes that Mercedes should hold internal talks about his collision with Lewis Hamilton during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. The pair have both spoken honestly about the incident and refused to palm the blame onto one another, though it is certainly a matter that needs addressing in the camp.
Russell and Hamilton collided during Q2 on a corner when a miscommunication saw the latter forced wide onto the grass on the corner. Russell held the inside line at the time, though claims he was unaware of his approaching Brit when he swung wide to try to create space between himself and the slow-moving Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton was forced to move onto the grass at a speed of approximately 180mph but managed to keep his car in a straight line. Though his evasive action was not perfect as he clipped Russell's car and damaged his front wing, leaving him furious at the time.
Speaking about the collision, Russell explained: "It was just a massive miscommunication. I was looking ahead trying to get the slipstream from Carlos [Sainz] and next thing Lewis was there.
"So we need to talk internally about how that happened because between two team-mates, it never should. It was neither [driver's] fault. Nothing by either driver was necessarily wrong, just within the team, it shouldn't happen and the communication should be better."
Hamilton radioed to the Mercedes team that the movement of his teammate was 'really dangerous' at the time and warned them of the damage. Though the insistence of a 'miscommunication' from Russell and other members of his team provided context to the situation.
Speaking after the session, Hamilton was asked about why he was forgiving of the situation, to which he replied: "The car didn't feel massively different. Afterwards, the car was pulling to the right. It was just a miscommunication thing. On the lap, it was feeling okay so hopefully it will be alright."
Rather than embarking on a blame game with his teammate, the Brit was more focused on heaping the praise on the work of the Mercedes team behind the scenes. He continued: "The car really came alive today.
"A big thank you to everyone back at the factory because it's showing that we are progressing which I'm so grateful to see. And I really enjoyed driving the car today. It was front row all the way to turn 10 but when I got on the power there was a snap of oversteer and that's where I lost two-tenths. But I'm more encouraged to see the car where it is and hopefully, we can progress forwards."