F1 News: George Russell in x-rated Lewis Hamilton rant after Mercedes track fury

George Russell, Mercedes, Bahrain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

Russell in x-rated Hamilton rant after Mercedes track fury

George Russell frustrated with car placement after being held up by team-mate

Shay Rogers

Saturday 23 March 2024 05:28 Updated: 09:47

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Mercedes’ George Russell bemoaned his teams’ organisational skills after he was held up by Lewis Hamilton during the final practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.

The British driver was on a fast lap when his seven-time champion team-mate managed to get in his way at the Albert Park circuit.

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Although his rant was not directed straight at Hamilton, Russell let out his frustration at Mercedes, saying: “Guys I always find Lewis at **** points in the track. Every time.” he shouted over the radio.

The Silver Arrows have struggled recently to improve their W15 car which has suffered from a small setup window and lack of pace.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been team-mates since 2022

Mercedes W15 has been poor so far in 2024

Mercedes making in-roads

They made in-roads on their competition in FP3 at Melbourne, finishing within two tenths of timesheet topper Charles Leclerc with both cars.

But the path to extracting that pace from their package was a difficult one – with Hamilton taking to his radio early in the session to complain about their lack of speed.

“Where is all that time?” he asked after being told he trailed Max Verstappen by over a second, despite being on softer tyres.

The entire grid is plagued by an issue of keeping the soft tyres in shape across the course of a lap – with the mediums favoured by some.

Mercedes were one of few who found a way to extract pace from the soft C5 Pirelli rubber without the need for extra fire-up laps.