Lewis Hamilton sends message to ‘mega’ George Russell after disappointing US Grand Prix accident

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Mercedes will want to move on from the United States Grand Prix as quickly as possible after a disastrous race weekend.

Team principal Toto Wolff would have been pleased with George Russell’s performance in Sprint Race qualifying after lining up on the front row alongside Max Verstappen.

However, Russell and Lewis Hamilton both struggled with tyre wear during the 19-lap race and worryingly for Mercedes, they were left complaining about different issues.

Hamilton also had a fault with his car that led to changes being made in the short window before qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Unfortunately, that didn’t help the seven-time world champion and he was eliminated in Q1 before Russell found the barriers on his final run that forced him to start from the pit lane due to the damage his car sustained.

Hamilton and Russell had the inevitable task of trying to score points from a long way back, but that task went from difficult to impossible for the seven-time world champion after he was beached in the gravel just five laps into the race.

Martin Brundle has shared what he thinks went wrong for Hamilton but the 39-year-old took to Instagram after the race to praise his teammate as he battled away to make the most of the opportunity in front of him.

Russell was handed a five-second penalty that left Damon Hill confused when he overtook Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.

READ MORE: Mercedes driver George Russell’s life outside F1 from net worth to height

It was in stark contrast to the penalty Lando Norris received for overtaking Max Verstappen off the track in the final stages of the race.

Despite that, Russell still came home to secure an eight-point haul for Mercedes who have been left in no man’s land in the Constructors’ Championship.

Wolff’s team are racing for pride at this point and to prepare the car for 2025 when Hamilton will make way for teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli.

Lewis Hamilton sends message to George Russell after the United States Grand Prix

Russell had to navigate his way through the midfield to reach the top ten which wasn’t easy considering how the grid has converged over the course of the season.

His time penalty also meant he had to overcome a lengthy pit stop that forced him to push harder than he would have liked to catch and subsequently overtake Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.

After the race, Hamilton said: “Not the weekend we wanted, but mega drive from @georgerussell63 to go from pit lane to P6. Well done, mate.”

Russell was never in contention to finish any higher than sixth, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri more than half a minute further up the road.

It does highlight just how much Perez is struggling at Red Bull despite starting ninth, he couldn’t finish ahead of Russell in a car that’s theoretically quicker than the Mercedes.

Toto Wolff furious with United States Grand Prix stewards after George Russell penalty

While Damon Hill was confused by Russell’s penalty, Wolff didn’t mince his words when speaking about the incident.

Wolff accused the stewards of biased decision-making when concluding that Russell – and Norris – were at fault for their respective moves.

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Russell managed to move down the inside of Gasly, however, the French driver went off the track as he tried to stay side-by-side with Russell going through the corner.

Anthony Davidson shared what bugged him about turn 12 earlier in the race weekend when Piastri was penalised for a similar move.

A change to the run-off area on the outside of the turn may be the solution as otherwise drivers are encouraged to stay alongside and force their opponent off the road, knowing that completing the move off the track will result in a penalty.

Russell managed to put that behind him and impressed by extracting the maximum from his car after his costly mistake in qualifying.