George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 and Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 on the drivers’ parade. 08.10.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 18, Qatar Grand Prix, Doha, Qatar, Race Day.
George Russell reveals that he and Lewis Hamilton held “discussions about how to work together” before the pair clashed on the opening lap of Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Mercedes were aiming to capitalise on a strong qualifying that had left Russell and Hamilton second and third on the grid, only behind World Champion Max Verstappen.
The German marque opted to split strategies at the start, with Hamilton on the Soft tyre and Russell accompanying Verstappen’s Red Bull on the more durable Medium compound.
However, disaster struck when Hamilton’s attempted move around the outside into Turn 1 saw Russell get sandwiched and the two made contact, sending the former out.
Russell, who was eventually able to recover to fourth, believes it was a “missed opportunity”, despite Mercedes managing to outscore Ferrari across the weekend.
“Of course frustrated because it was such a big, missed opportunity for both of us,” he said. “We have got one goal and that is to finish P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.
“We had a lot of discussions this morning about how we were going to work together. The fight wasn’t with each other, it was with Ferrari.
“Fortunately we still came away with more points than them this weekend, but Lewis and I will be fine. We have a huge amount of respect for each other. Nothing was intentional from my side.”
Although Hamilton initially blamed Russell over team radio for the contact, the seven-time World Champion later absolved his younger team-mate of any blame.
“I definitely appreciate him apologising for that, for sure,” Russell added. “As I said on the radio, you know, in every incident it involved two people and definitely appreciate what he said.”
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14 crashed out at the start of the race. 08.10.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 18, Qatar Grand Prix, Doha, Qatar, Race Day.
Despite Mercedes failing to maximise its Sunday prospects, Russell says he will take encouragement from the promising pace of the W14 ahead of the remaining five rounds.
“For me this year, the Drivers’ Championship has been a complete disaster. I’ve got one goal and that’s to finish P2 in the teams’ championship and it was of course a big opportunity,” he reiterated.
“I still have full faith we will be able to achieve it so I stand here now with positivity because the car was quick, I had a really strong race.
“We have got a few little things coming before the last race of the season.”
The collision at Turn 1 denied Russell the opportunity to battle the McLarens for the podium, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris securing back-to-back double podiums.
However, Russell sees “no reason” why Mercedes can’t fight McLaren in the upcoming races on the calendar.
“We believe that we were on pace, if not faster than McLaren and seeing that Piastri finished so close to Max was really quite surprising,” he continued.
“This season has not meant to be for us, but next time we will come back stronger.”
The searing heat and humidity present at the Lusail circuit witnessed several drivers struggle both during the race and after.
The already unwell Logan Sargeant was unable to continue, while Esteban Ocon admitted he threw up in the cockpit.
Expanding on the extreme conditions the drivers were tackling, Russell explained: “I was so sick in the car. I wasn’t physically sick. I felt ill during the race and had to ask my engineer to give me encouragement to try to take my mind away from it.
“It was like, I do a lot of heat training in a sauna, so you push your body to the limit and sometimes you need to get out that sauna. I felt about Lap 20, my visor for the whole race just hot air but it was better than no air. It was brutal.”
At one stage, Russell was viewed placing his hands on the monocoque on the start-finish straight and then opening his visor as he arrived at his box for a scheduled pit stop.
“Yeah, just trying to cool down as much as possible,” he said regarding those moments. “Inside the cockpit, it was over 50c. You’ve got your fireproofs on, race suit on, the physicality of the car. The car was still bouncing as well, yeah. It’s just crazy.”
Keyword: Mercedes drivers discussed ‘working together’ pre-race