George Russell, in a video, revealed what made him feel most embarrassed during his time in Formula 1 so far; it affected Mercedes too.
George Russell is an exceptional talent that is heavily raw right now and far away from his peak years. But the start of his best days is about to come, as he is hired by the most dominant team in F1- Mercedes.
However, there was an embarrassing moment in his F1 career, which affected Mercedes. In a video released by his new team on YouTube, he was asked which is the most embarrassing moment in F1?
The Briton replied: “My most embarrasing moment in F1? Probably crashing into Valtteri [Bottas] in Imola, in 2021.” The crash between the two drivers was a big controversy, primarily because of the speed at which both collided.
Both cars shredded massive debris on the track. Moreover, both drivers initially refused to take responsibility for the accident. But later, Russell apologized for his actions.
“I think the incident is one thing, it’s part of racing, and these things do happen,” stated Russell, who was striving for his first points for Williams before the shunt. “The actions I did afterwards were not my true self.
“I sort of went against my own instinct to walk away and showed a bit of emotion which was probably a very poor judgement call in the heat of the moment, which led on to a few more things later that afternoon.”
Also read: George Russell explains the reason behind his nickname ‘Mr Saturday’
George Russell to fill Bottas’ shoes
In 2021, it seemed inevitable that Russell would soon replace Bottas at Mercedes because the Brackley based team has invested massively in Russell. Meanwhile, Bottas’ role at Mercedes was becoming redundant.
New week. 💪 Let’s do this, Team! 👊 pic.twitter.com/tqbci70L2i
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 7, 2022
Therefore, to keep the future in mind, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff seemed 2022 is the right time to phase in Russell. Moreover, even Bottas needed more guarantees in his career.
Even if Mercedes chose to go with Bottas for another year, the Finnish race driver sought a multi-year contract deal. This proposal wasn’t suitable for Mercedes.
Also read: George Russell teases a return to the silver color scheme for the 2022 Mercedes car
