George Russell went through a nervy moment in Melbourne during the last lap of the Australian GP, when he crashed into the barriers and was left stranded on the track. It was an unpleasant experience for Russell, but Mercedes’ technical director James Allison insists that Russell has moved on from it.
Russell was trying to overtake Fernando Alonso on lap 58 in Australia two weeks ago. Unfortunately, he lost control of his car, hit the barriers and his car came to a stop in the middle of the track, on its side. On the team radio, Russell panicked, and pleaded for a red flag because he was worried about other cars crashing into him at a high speed. The video of him frantically calling for the race to stop was disturbing, and made its rounds around social media.
James Allison said (on Mercedes’ recent debrief),
“He was completely back to his normal self within minutes of that happening. He was in the factory on Monday working on the simulator. It was an ugly few seconds but not something that will be keeping him awake at night.”
Allison went on to admit that Russell was in a very vulnerable position. He crashed at one of the fastest parts of the circuit, which is why he was desperate for a red flag. While many criticized race control for not doing what Russell wanted, Allison praised them for acting quickly.
However, after Russell’s shunt, many were sure about a red flag coming out. Still, the officials decided against it, leaving many puzzled.
Why George Russell’s crash did not bring out red flag
The majority of the F1 community expected a red flag to come out before the VSC was deployed. This baffled some pundits including Martin Brundle who was adamant that it was a red flag situation.
Many, however, feel the opposite. Brundle’s Sky Sports colleague Bernie Collins disagrees with Brundle. In the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Collins said, “I think it was the right call. We just started the final lap at this point so the leaders had just crossed the line. If you red-flag it now, effectively the leader comes into the pit lane, and then that’s it.
Bernie Collins also brought in last year’s Australian GP ending to the conversation. 2023’s outing in Melbourne saw several stoppages, including a red flag right before the race ended. It led to chaos on the final lap, when the Grand Prix restarted. Race Control, likely, wanted to avoid that, and instead focused on bringing the field closer together, slowly. Hence, their decision to deploy a VSC.
