“Black Don’t Crack”: Lewis Hamilton Puts George Russell in His Place After Ageist Remark

With each passing race weekend, the Silver Arrows have taken steps in the right direction. The troubled philosophy of the latest era of F1 has been resolving itself for Mercedes. But as the car gains pace, so does the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Now, the young King’s Lynn native has made a rather ageist remark about the 7x champion, as reported over at X.

The duo of Hamilton and Russell have been locked into a battle to assume the throne at Mercedes for the entirety of the 2023 season. Sparks flew between the teammates at the 2023 Japanese GP and at the next race at the Lusail International Circuit, Hamilton and Russell finally came together ending in a lap 1 DNF for Hamilton.

The dynamic between the two has caused an apparent rift within the team. Obviously, neither side of the garage wants to let the other one win. In the tussle that two of them find themselves in, neither one is gong to squander a chance to put the other one down. Be it on the track or otherwise.

Lewis Hamilton slaps back after ageist George Russell comments

In the build up to the 2023 US Grand Prix being run at the iconic Circuit of the Americas, the Mercedes duo was locked into their own off track battle before they took onto the tarmac. Russell, jokingly, was quoted (on Twitter) as saying that he was “doing something wrong because he’s younger than Lewis yet has more wrinkles than him.”

Though the young Briton may have meant no harm, it was a sly dig hinting at how Hamilton might be in the twilight of his career. But Hamilton hit back with a befittingly hilarious reply. He retorted, “Black don’t crack, bro.”

You can’t blame George Russell for his comments, though. The 25-year-old has been stacked up against one of the best in F1, and naturally, the challenge of squaring off against a 7x champion every race weekend is going to take a toll on Russell.

Nico Rosberg comes to George Russell’s aide against Hamilton

In this intense battle that Russell finds himself in, Nico Rosberg has assumed the position of a mentor. He told Sky Sports, “You can’t be the nice guy in that situation. Because you have to keep the pressure on. And make it difficult for the team because otherwise, the team is going to take the easiest route. It’s very uncomfortable. Because George needs to be pushing.”

Russell should be listening to Rosberg’s advice closely, though. According to the German, Russell has already won half the battle.

The 2016 champion concluded, “We hear George doing it on the radio. And it was good in Qatar for him because Hamilton actually admitted so it was a big win for George. During my time he never had to admit in that way and it is very rare for Lewis to be 100 per cent at fault.”