Mercedes suffered a nasty moment at the recently concluded Qatar Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell collided with each other on the opening lap of the race. While Russell managed to carry on and finish fourth, Hamilton ended up retiring. This was a massive blow for the Silver Arrows, who had a good opportunity to extend their lead from third-placed Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, with Carlos Sainz unable to compete due to a pre-race technical issue. Even though tensions grew at Mercedes because of the crash between Hamilton and Russell, their communications chief has made it clear that the team’s drivers are expected to carry on in the same fashion as there is no room for “puppy dogs.” As a result, it seems that the Silver Arrows are not worried about having a potential situation that Hamilton and former teammate Rosberg had back in 2016.
However, it is important to note that Hamilton did take responsibility for the crash though. The 38-year-old took to X and wrote that after he watched the replay again, he understood it was 100% his fault. He then added that he was ready to take “full responsibility” for the incident and apologized to both Mercedes and Russell.
I’ve watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and to George.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) October 8, 2023
Mercedes’ racing intent
While speaking in an interview after the Qatar Grand Prix, Mercedes communications chief Bradley Lord admitted that the lap one incident between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell was “pretty much the worst scenario” for them. He then analyzed how the two ended up making contact before explaining why some sort of tension between the two of them is also good for the team.
“There should be a little bit of tension there because they are competitors and we don’t want puppy dogs in the car, we want lions and that’s what we’ve got. So of course there’s tension and the real challenge is how do you build a healthy and trusting relationship? And how do you work together as a team in order to achieve the team’s objectives? And they’re both really able to do that,” explained Bradley (as quoted by planetf1.com).
Meanwhile, there is reportedly also a “racing intent document” in Mercedes to prevent their two drivers from having an escalation of tensions as they did when Hamilton and Rosberg were teammates several years ago. Bradley added (as quoted by crash.net) that their racing intent document helps the team to maximize the team’s potential and manage the tensions.
While Mercedes has tried their best to prevent Russell and Hamilton from having an escalation of tensions, veteran F1 commentator Martin Brundle has urged the latter not to be too harsh on himself. The 64-year-old believes that the collision between Hamilton and Russell was a simple racing incident.
Opinions on Hamilton’s response
Since Lewis Hamilton was sporting enough to send out a post to apologize for colliding with Mercedes teammate George Russell, Martin Brundle has appreciated him for the same. However, the British pundit did state during the F1: Chequered Flag Podcast that he believes that the seven-time champion is being “potentially slightly hard on himself” after apologizing for the incident.
Meanwhile, while Russell accepted Hamilton’s apology for the incident, he reiterated the point (as quoted by racingnews365.com) that the two of them should not fight with each other but rather work together to finish second in the Constructors’ Championship. As things stand, the Silver Arrows are currently second in the championship and have a 30-point lead over third-placed Ferrari, with five races remaining in the 2023 season.
