Mercedes pay Taylor Swift tribute to departing Russell moment

F1 fans have officially been forced to bid farewell to George Russell's iconic 2023 introduction pose.

The Brit's T-pose was one of the biggest memes of last season, with Alex Albon revealing last week at pre-season testing that a number of different drivers had actually posed similarly in shots left on the cutting room floor.

Russell admitted nerves coming into this season's shoot, knowing he had a lot to live up to if he wanted to continue on as the social media 'meme king' in 2024.

His season got off to a great start as Mercedes posted a hilarious out-take from an F1 photoshoot on their X page in the week after testing.

READ MORE: F1 Times Today: Bahrain Grand Prix practice results - Hamilton top as Verstappen STRUGGLES

F1 Twitter reacts to Russell meme in Taylor Swift nod

In the new opening credits, Russell is seen in quite a standard, generic pose, walking up to the camera with a rather deadpan expression on his face.

Introducing your 2024 opening titles 🙌 #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aletZnSlaG

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 29, 2024

Mercedes themselves were the first to mourn over the removal of Russell's T-shaped posture, presumably with their social media team now realising they have more work to do to market their driver.

They posted a memorial post for the iconic pose on X, using lyrics from popstar Taylor Swift's song 'Bigger than the Whole Sky'.

goodbye, goodbye, goodbye you were bigger than the whole sky 😢 pic.twitter.com/JMb45i24Ta

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 29, 2024

Mercedes fans were clearly upset by this, with one user commenting: "I'm not sure we are ready to let go."

Meanwhile, another user continued on with the Swift theme, commenting "You were more than just a short time."

READ MORE: Russell hit with FRESH round of memes after pre-season photos

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