George Russell has been accused of purposefully forcing Lewis Hamilton off the circuit at last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, following the duo’s collision at the end of Q2.
The Mercedes drivers almost had a terrifying crash as they both began their final Q2 lap, as Hamilton was forced onto the dirt down the start/finish straight at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
As the pair started their final push lap, Hamilton was directly behind Russell and therefore in his slipstream.
Hamilton as a result closed on Russell very quickly; however, the former Williams driver was busy trying to get a tow himself from Carlos Sainz ahead.
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Russell moved to the right to stay in Sainz’s tow, allowing Hamilton to breeze alongside his team-mate.
Suddenly, Russell moved back across to the racing line, where he collided with Hamilton.
Russell forced Hamilton off the circuit and broke his front wing in the process, with both drivers somehow escaping a crash.
Both drivers and team principal Toto Wolff blamed the incident on “miscommunication”, as Russell was unaware where Hamilton was.
British Sports Car driver Richard Bradley disagrees though, with him believing that Russell knew “exactly what he was doing”.
Bradley is “amazed” that Russell wasn’t fired on the spot, given that he nearly caused an “aircraft crash”.
“He knew exactly what he was doing,” Bradley said the On Track GP podcast.
“I’m amazed he wasn’t handed his P45 on the spot for that, that could have been like an aircraft crash.”
Russell most certainly isn’t getting the sack from Mercedes; instead, the Germans have extended his contract.
When Russell replaced Valtteri Bottas in 2022, he joined on a multi-year contract.
It now appears that the initial deal was to the end of 2024, with Mercedes having an option to extend Russell’s deal to the end of 2025.
That’s exactly what the Silver Arrows have done, ensuring that Russell’s seat is now safe for a further season.
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Given that Mercedes had the option in the contract already, “no formal announcement” will be made.
“There’s been no formal announcement on this from Mercedes because it was already within their power to enforce this option they had, but that’s what they’ve gone and done,” revealed Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater.
“I learned about from some senior figures in the sport yesterday, and I have been able to confirm that it has actually happened.”