Lewis Hamilton and George Russell recently had a tight wheel-to-wheel tussle during the recently concluded Dutch Grand Prix. In the battle for supremacy between the two Mercedes drivers, Hamilton came out as the winner. However, fans noticed Russell’s predicament during the battle and it certainly did not look good as they reacted on Twitter.
The two Mercedes drivers were unlikely to face each other during the race given they had a 10-place gap between themselves. However, the severe wet conditions saw topsy turvy in the pecking order, and at one point, the two Silver Arrows were right behind one another.
Drying off in the garage. ☔️🌧️ pic.twitter.com/jogdBKpB0z
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 27, 2023
Russell was in P7 and Hamilton was right behind him in P8, and this was the point when the seven-time world champion chased his younger compatriot. The extreme pressure from the veteran led to the 25-year-old losing control for a brief moment before he got back control of his car.
Fans reacted to Russell’s slip-up against Hamilton
After noticing the Lap 59 incident of the race, fans began commenting on it. They thought that the younger Silver Arrows driver came under immense pressure seeing Hamilton in his mirror.
Given below are some of the reactions taken from Twitter:
@Trish wrote Russell soiled his pants.
George Russell soils his pants trying to defend from Lewis. pic.twitter.com/oY8zKdHnL5
— Trish (@xdna44) August 27, 2023
@hamburgerh0tdog pointed out how scary it was for Russell.
This was funny 😂 but we get it George, when you see the F1 🐐 in your mirrors it’s going to be scary pic.twitter.com/h2G4Bq9sex
— Unicorn🦄 (@hamburgerh0tdog) August 28, 2023
@f1blag had something to talk about being a team player.
George Russell was so busy watching Lewis in his mirrors (on a completely different strategy) that he literally drove off track and nearly binned it.
You will never convince me that he’s a team player.
— F1blag (@f1blag) August 27, 2023
@Eternal11th called Russell a Looney Tunes character.
LMFAOO he saw Lewis in the rear view mirror and turned into a looney tunes character 😭😭 https://t.co/PlRlsIn6ZP
— Ikaris (@Eternal11th) August 28, 2023
How did the race end for Hamilton and Russell?
Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton finished the race in a respectable P6 despite starting from P13. The wet conditions and the strategy played a positive role for him, whereas it was exactly the opposite for George Russell.
The Mercedes star had to take seven pit stops compared to Hamilton’s five. Jointly most by any driver, [Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll also had seven] as the two extra pit stops cost him time, with the last one having a puncture. In the end, he finished the race P17.
With this, the seven-time world champion extends his lead to 57 points against his teammate after 13 rounds. Hamilton stands at P4 with 156 points, whereas Russell is in P7 with 99 points.