Mercedes got off to a brilliant start in Canada as Lewis Hamilton managed to overtake Fernando Alonso at the start of the race and take P2. However, things got really bad for the Silver Arrows, when Hamilton’s teammate George Russell had a major crash during the Canadian GP.
Russell had started the race from P4, promoted from P5 after Nico Hulkenberg took a three-place grid penalty. Russell had a pretty decent start to the race as he held his position and managed to fend off the Haas of Hulkenberg behind him.
After Alonso was overtaken by Hamilton, Russell slotted in behind Alonso and was chasing the Spaniard down when disaster struck.
George Russell ruins his Canadian GP
On lap 13 of 70, while following Alonso, Russell went into Turn 8 with a lot of speed, and while coming out of Turn 9, the Briton lost his rear and slammed into the wall on the outside.
Russell seemed to lose control after going over the sausage kerb on the inside of Turn 9, and when he put in too much throttle to gain traction, the rear stepped out and Russell crashed into the wall.
The Safety Car was immediately deployed while Russell limped back to the pits. The rear right tire was completely punctured and most thought that Russell would be out of the Canadian GP.
However, the Mercedes Pit Crew took their time during the Safety Car, put on new tires, changed his front wing, and sent him back out on the track. The Mercedes apparently withstood all the damage and was still good to race.
The race finally ended for Russell on Lap 55, when he had to retire from the Canadian GP due to high brake wear.
George Russell and his indestructible Mercedes
Fans were quite evidently amazed by the fact that Russell could continue his race even after having clipped the wall so hard. Twitter user Stephanie compared Russell’s Mercedes with the Indestructible Nokia phone.
Another fan compared Russell’s condition with that of Stroll during the 2021 Monaco GP Qualifying.
Another Twitter user shared a funny video that portrayed how Russell limped back to the pits after his crash.
George Russell came back onto the track in P19, after pitting following his crash. However, by Lap 37, he had already made his way back to P9, within the points.
However, things went south for Russell on Lap 55. Due to an issue with his braking system, Russell was asked to pit and had to retire from the race, bringing a halt to his brilliant recovery drive. This was the second DNF for Russell in the 2023 F1 season.
