Eliminated on the first lap of the Belgian Grand Prix after a collision with Lewis Hamilton, George Russell let his anger against Mercedes explode on the radio.
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The Belgian Grand Prix turned into a nightmare for George Russell. Forced to retire on the first lap after contact with Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes driver did not hide his frustration on his team radio.
Very upset, the Briton swore repeatedly on the radio, pointing out the problems encountered by his single-seater throughout the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
A loss of power at the origin of the collision
The incident occurred in the first kilometers of the race. Coming out of the first corner, Russell’s Mercedes suffered a loss of battery energy after an energy recovery problem.
Deprived of power on the long Kemmel straight, the Briton found himself in difficulty and was quickly overtaken by several competitors.
Approaching turn 5, Lewis Hamilton unintentionally hit the Mercedes, causing Russell’s immediate retirement. The Ferrari driver, for his part, received a five-second penalty.
Furious anger against Mercedes
A few seconds after his retirement, Russell let his anger explode on the team radio.
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“I’m out of the race. Damn it, what happened with the state of charge on the straight? I had no battery left on the straight.”
The Briton then directly blamed Mercedes.
“Guys, this is unacceptable. Completely unacceptable this whole weekend.”
A championship that is getting complicated
This new retirement marks the third Grand Prix without scoring a single point for Russell this season, after Monaco and Canada.
At the same time, his teammate Kimi Antonelli won at Spa, further increasing his lead in the world championship. Thanks to this victory, the Italian now has a 50-point lead over Russell.
Lewis Hamilton, despite his penalty, finished fourth and also overtook the Mercedes driver in the drivers’ standings.
For Russell, this Belgian weekend will therefore remain one of the most frustrating of his season, between a lack of performance on the straight, a technical problem at the start of the race, and a retirement on the first lap which further compromises his ambitions in the title fight.
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