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

However, his iconic pose from 2023 has now been skated over, as F1 released the new title sequence ahead of FP1 for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

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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