Former F1 driver, three-time Le Mans winner and now team principal of the Audi Formula E team, Allan McNish, believes that George Russell did not ruin his chances at Mercedes after a very heated encounter with Valtteri Bottas in Imola.
It was a fight that, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, should never have taken place – a scrap between Williams and Mercedes that ended with two battered cars – and a very public apology from the young Briton.
Russell’s Williams squeezed for P9 on Valtteri Bottas on lap 32 of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a move considered brave if he wanted a future at Mercedes.
The two tangled up badly and sent both cars into the cordon – and an angry Russell got out of the car to face the Finn.
The 23-year-old admitted he asked why the Finn “tried to kill us both”. Bottas denied that he heard much of what the 23-year-old was saying, but heard enough to gesticulate a middle finger at the Mercedes Junior driver.
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After the fruity language ended and the dust settled, Russell publicly apologized and insisted on his relationship with Mercedes, and Wolff in particular was “not damaged at all after the incident, if anything to the contrary”.
And McNish, speaking to Express Sport ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula E, won by DS Techeetah’s Antonio Felix da Costa, believed it wouldn’t have any long-term implications.
“I think a lot of people after last year’s race in Bahrain, where George came on, would like him to take a step forward,” McNish told Express Sport.
“I don’t think the San Marino Imola race where he collided with Valtteri Bottas had any impact on his long-term future because at the end of the day these things happen and sometimes, you know, two don’t go into one.
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“Valtteri Bottas It’s a very difficult thing because he’s not just meeting one, possibly the best ever, certainly in terms of numbers, but also another person and Max Verstappen with another team,” concluded McNish.
“But he’s also extremely good. You know, there aren’t many weak spots on the grid right now.
“And when it comes to the highlights, I think we should be very happy that we have so many drivers and teams that are actually at a very high level.”
The post George Russell’s Mercedes future analyzed after the Valtteri Bottas incident – McNish | F1 | Sports first appeared on monter-une-startup.
