George Russell admitted to having felt “left out” by ex-Formula 1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle last Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as he hadn’t been interviewed once all season.
Brundle was conducting his traditional gridwalk for Sky Sports F1 at the Yas Marina Circuit when he came across Russell towards the end of the segment, where the Mercedes driver dropped the bombshell.
Russell explained to Brundle that he hadn’t spoken to him all season and that all he sees is the “memes on YouTube” of the ex-F1 driver “chatting with everyone”.
“I feel like you’ve not spoken to me all season,” Russell said to Brundle. “I feel left out. I always see the memes on YouTube of you chatting with everyone.”
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It was a comical interaction between the duo, with Brundle having apologised to Russell for leaving him out this season.
Brundle explained to the King’s Lynn-born driver that he thought he didn’t want people talking to him ahead of a race, something Russell denied.
The pundit admitted that he was “really sorry” for not speaking to the Mercedes driver this season, before Russell confirmed that they’ll talk more in 2024.
“Oh, I’m really sorry about that! I thought you were normally like: ‘No, I’m not talking to him’,” Brundle replied apologetically.
“No, no, no. We’ll do more next year,” said Russell.
Russell will probably be hoping that Brundle speaks to him more in 2024 given how well he went onto perform in the season finale, where he managed to secure Mercedes second in the Constructors’ Championship.
Starting from fourth, Russell actually fell to fifth on the opening lap after falling behind Lando Norris, who made a better start.
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However, Russell’s race pace was ultimately too strong for Norris and Oscar Piastri, as the 25-year-old progressed into third with ease as the race developed.
He was actually overtaken by Sergio Perez in the closing laps and crossed the finish line in P4, although he was promoted back into third as the Red Bull driver had a five-second time penalty.
With Charles Leclerc having finished second, Russell’s podium was enough to clinch second in the standings for Mercedes, by just three points.