George Russell was involved in a terrible high-speed accident with Valtteri Bottas in Imola. On lap 34 he wanted to overtake the Mercedes driver on the start-finish straight when he put his bike on the grass, spun and took both of them out of the race. Subsequently, however, he aggressively blamed Bottas for the incident – a view that, according to a well-known F1 figure, is not shared among his colleagues.
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Immediately after the accident, Russell got out of his car and confronted Bottas on the side of the road. He not only accused the Finnish driver of trying to kill him, but also patted his helmet in a fit of anger.
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola, Italy – April 18, 2021 Mercedes ‘Valtteri Bottas and Williams’ George Russell. REUTERS / Jennifer Lorenzini
Then he called Bottas in the interviews after the race for violating the “gentlemen’s agreement”. However, according to Damon Hill, the other drivers weren’t buying what Russell was selling.
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“Most of the drivers I spoke to after the race said that it was Russell’s fault. Because he was the one trying to make the transition and everything had to go perfectly before he could complete that transition on a track with wet sections. “(Translated via Google Translate)
To be fair to Russell, he was hit hard by the motorsport community, and Wolff criticized him as well. He also apologized to Bottas for his action when the dust settled.
Hill is on an important FIA decision with George Russell
However, Hill believes the crash could have been avoided had the race management not made significant changes. Race director Michael Masi made it possible to use DRS (Drag Reduction System) to overtake the cars in front. This enabled the F1 cars to exceed 320 km / h in a straight line.
Read more: Marko calls on Mercedes’ Toto Wolff to look at the ‘bigger picture’ of Bottas-Russell Imola Crash
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However, parts of the route were still damp. As the high-speed accident in Imola shows, any wrong move can lead to a serious situation. Hill expects Russell to take on the FIA as he holds such an important position in the sport.
“But I think the main problem was that DRS was on … I’m sure George will speak about this at the next meeting as Director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.”
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – Williams’ George Russell at the FIA press conference FIA / Handout on REUTER’S CAUTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES
Hopefully it was only on a rare occasion when Russell let his feelings overwhelm him. It’s all part of his learning curve to become an all-time great of the sport.
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The post “Most drivers” accused George Russell of crashing with Bottas in Imola: Former F1 champion first appeared on monter-une-startup.
