George Russell is angry after his retirement in the early stages of the Belgian GP. Not at Lewis Hamilton – who tapped the driver from behind causing his spin into the gravel – but at his Mercedes W17. According to Russell, he ended up in a life-threatening situation because he had an empty battery at the top of Eau Rouge: ‘I was driving slower than an F2 car and was overtaken by three drivers’.
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Even before the Belgian GP had really started for George Russell, the race was already over for the Brit. In the first lap, the Mercedes driver was hit by his former teammate Lewis Hamilton. Russell spun into the gravel, after which the Grand Prix was over for him. The seven-time world champion received a five-second time penalty for the incident. Yet Russell does not place full blame on Hamilton.
“I had a good start. I took the first corner excellently and was right behind Verstappen, but for some reason the battery didn’t want to charge in turn 1,” Russell explained to the media after his short race. “So I went into the first corner, the battery didn’t charge and when I came out of the first corner, I was already at 35% – and because it wasn’t charging, I also had a boost problem. The turbo didn’t kick in, so I had no power.”
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‘I was driving slower than an F2 car’
Russell then arrived at the top of Eau Rouge with an empty battery. “Honestly, it was life-threatening,” he continued. “I was overtaken by three cars. I shouldn’t have been in that position at all, and that’s what I’m most angry about. I was driving slower than an F2 car and was overtaken by three drivers. That made me vulnerable.”
The Mercedes driver therefore does not place full blame for the collision on Hamilton. “Honestly, I think it was a racing incident. He didn’t do it on purpose,” he defends his former teammate. “Yes, he was more at fault than I was, but he didn’t do anything reckless. It was just one of those things; I’m mainly angry that I ended up in that position at all. I was in a great position coming out of turn 1 and was ready to fight with the two drivers ahead of me until turn 5.”
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