George Russell continues to experience “some little drop the ball moments”, according to David Coulthard who says the Briton is “not the complete finished article” at this moment in time.
Despite securing his first podium finish of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix, George Russell’s performance was far from flawless. The British driver brought his Mercedes W14 across the finish line in third place, trailing behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
However, the weekend was not without its imperfections, In addition to engaging in a clash with Hamilton during qualifying, which resulted in the latter’s broken front wing, George Russell encountered another setback on his way to the grid for Sunday’s race. He veered off into the gravel, compounding the challenges he faced over the weekend.
The initial incident is what particularly captured Coulthard’s attention. During the closing stages of Q2, Hamilton closely trailed Russell, benefitting from the latter’s slipstream. With remarkable acceleration, Hamilton aimed to overtake his teammate on the outside as they approached Turn 1.
However, Russell swiftly shifted to the left, effectively blocking Hamilton’s path and denying him the opportunity to make the pass.
The collision resulted in Hamilton’s front wing breaking, although the seven-time World Champion was fortunate enough to avoid a more significant accident by briefly venturing onto the grass.
Despite the setback, Hamilton successfully advanced to Q3, while Russell, unfortunately, found himself eliminated from qualifying, finishing in 12th position.
Speaking to Channel 4, David Coulthard emphasized: “George has still got a little chink in his armour, that late movement in qualifying where they had contact if you remember he’s had some little drop-the-ball moments.
“He’s not the complete finished article yet. He’s pretty close. But Lewis Hamilton when he’s back, he’s back.”
As Lewis Hamilton showcased his evident resurgence in Spain, Ralf Schumacher, a former driver-turned-pundit, has raised doubts about whether George Russell intentionally impeded his own teammate by closing the door.
“George didn’t want to give Lewis a slipstream and closed the door,” said the Sky Sports pundit. “This is my analysis. The young challenger wants to replace the top dog.”
Following Saturday’s collision, George Russell escaped with nothing more than a warning. During an interview with the BBC Chequered Flag podcast, the British driver described the incident as ” just a big miscommunication.”
“[There was] a lot of traffic on the out lap, and I was just trying to take the slipstream from Carlos, and next thing Lewis was there. So yeah fortunate nothing big happened but just a bit disappointed to be out in Q2.”
Continuing his streak of errors, Russell committed another blunder on Sunday when he veered off the track and found himself trapped in the gravel at Turn Five while en route to the grid.
However, although Nico Rosberg found it “very unusual,” the Mercedes team was swift to downplay Russell’s mistake, emphasizing its significance.
“It’s the time to do it, just trying some white lines, because obviously when you’re racing you’re often not on the racing line,” he told Sky F1.
“So not a lot of grip there, hopefully not too many of the other drivers saw what happened to me and that [doesn’t] happen to them on lap one.”
