Mercedes had a troublesome time at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with both their cars involved in accidents. First, Lewis Hamilton slid off the track and wrecked his car’s front fin. Then, his teammate Valtteri Bottas got involved in a crash with Mercedes junior driver George Russell and they were both eliminated from the race.
Russell attempted a DRS assisted pass against Bottas down the pit straight. But, after dropping a wheel on the damp grass, he lost control and crashed into the side of Bottas’ car.
Former F1 driver Martin Brundle seems to think that incidents like these should happen more often, especially on tricky road conditions after rains.
“I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often. The track had a defined dry line with moisture present on both sides, and turn one is simply a left-hand kink.
“Bottas wanted to stay on the dry line, that’s totally his prerogative as long as he left space either side, which he did.
“I can’t see any blame for Bottas, and Russell needs to carefully consider if he should have seen the peril unfolding, backed out and waited for a less risky move, and also how he behaved after the shunt with his words and actions.
“He’s a young feisty racer seizing a passing opportunity, and you absolutely wouldn’t want to knock that out of him, but especially up against a works Mercedes he needed to consider the bigger picture and play the percentage game more carefully.”
Brundle agrees that the accident was purely a racing collision and that Bottas was not to be blamed for it. Additionally, Russell should have estimated the risk involved and backed out from the situation. That would have allowed him to take a more calculated move.
He also thinks that Russell should see the bigger picture as Mercedes could be his future employer. It would be a foolish step to give in to his aggression and lose such an opportunity.
Do you think Russell will get a chance to drive for Mercedes in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
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