George Russell has sent a message to a fan he ignored on the Friday before the British Grand Prix after his video went viral. The Mercedes rookie has also promised to send the fan a signed football after the hilarious incident was caught on camera.
In the TikTok video, fans at Silverstone can be heard screaming for Russell to get a ball they had accidentally lost over the fence that split the crowd from the track. At one stage, Russell appeared to turn back towards it to pick it up and throw it back to the fans but instead just waved to the crowd who had gathered behind the barrier.
Believing the fans just wanted to see him, Russell cycled past and left the ball on the ground. As Russell cycles away, the man in the video, Isaac Jackson, can be heard screaming “George, the ball, no, George, the football, the football.”
Jackson posted a reply to TikTok the same evening to update followers that he didn’t get the ball back. A day later he was seen on the Silverstone ferris wheel, admitting it was the “last attempt” to find the ball.
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One social media user said: “If I was the team I would be worried if he found that vague.” Another added: “How was the instructions unclear.”
Another commented: “How can he say the instructions were unclear if he couldn’t hear them?” Russell had a difficult Friday in Austria, crashing out in Q3 on one of his final flying laps.
However, the Mercedes driver was still able to start the sprint race from fifth despite the damage.
