“That Happiness of Course Is Tempered”: Bland Lewis Hamilton Podium Celebration Happened Because of George Russell

Tanish Chachra | 06/04/2023
“That Happiness of Course Is Tempered”: Bland Lewis Hamilton Podium Celebration Happened Because of George Russell

Lewis Hamilton gave the biggest positive to Mercedes last weekend when he brought back a podium place after a strong performance. However, there was nobody from his team to celebrate with him once he came out of the car.

Even the seven-time world champion was confused to see the sight. Initially, he was caught saying on Kelly Slater’s Instagram video, “Where the f*** is my team.” He even sounded unhappy about his team’s absence at Parc Ferme during his media interaction.

The entire episode even triggered outrage by a huge section of Hamilton fans on Twitter. Some even compared it to a lack of enthusiasm in Ferrari’s garage when Carlos Sainz won the last year’s British Grand Prix. Anyway, it wasn’t a good look on Mercedes.

Mercedes engineer reveals George Russell’s sadness caused it

While Mercedes fetched their first podium of the season with Hamilton’s emphatic efforts, they also witnessed an unusual sight. Rarely ever did Mercedes see its engine catching up the fire, but George Russell‘s car was in flames, and he had to retire midway through the race.

It was surely disappointing for the Silver Arrows, as Russell had a poor day at work. First, his chances of a podium were ruined after Mercedes ordered him to do an early pitstop, which proved to be a mistake as the race was soon stopped due to a red flag.

Then his car caught fire and ruled out any chances of getting some crucial points. So, Mercedes was in low spirits and engaged in solving the issue. Therefore, the team’s reaction to Hamilton’s podium was ‘tempered’, reveals the team engineer.

“That happiness, of course, is tempered by the disappointment that we only got one car to the flag and that George could not show what he was capable of in the car on race day, having performed very strongly up to that point in the weekend,” said James Allison.

Lewis Hamilton hints Mercedes is moving forward

But Allison believes that Hamilton’s podium brought the team a sense of satisfaction. They realize that their efforts have brought them slightly close to the championship leaders Red Bull.

At the same time, they are confident that they are a ‘nose-whisker’ ahead of both Aston Martin and Ferrari. But will the same performance repeat on other tracks? That will only be known in the following races, as even Allison isn’t sure about that.

But the overall consensus says Mercedes have progressed from the first race of the season. Toto Wolff definitely would want to stick with the same trajectory through the rest of the season.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
George Russell Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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