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Although Toto Wolff indicated George Russell should have been more careful when fighting Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes, the young Briton says his relationship with the team will not be harmed.
At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix George Russell and Valtteri Bottas were involved in a huge crash. After the race the blame-game was on.
Bottas blamed Russell for the crash, while Russell said Bottas jolted while he was being attacked, and suggested that he wouldn’t have been so aggressive against any other driver. The young Briton was implying Bottas was more aggressive because, as a Mercedes junior driver, Russell is thought to be a contender for a Mercedes seat in 2022.
Bottas denied making any sudden moves and said Russell had “quite a theory”. Even Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff called the theory “bulls*it” and said Russell should have kept in mind that he was fighting against a Mercedes, and therefore should have been more careful.
Obviously this led to speculation that Russell’s relationship with Mercedes might have been harmed, however, the young Briton denies it.
“It’s not going to harm my relationship with Mercedes at all,” Russell said.
“I’ve already spoken with them, and there’s understanding from both sides, I’m sure from my side when you’re looking forward you’re not really taking into consideration what car it is.
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“At the end of the day the move was absolutely on, we were only three-quarters of the way down the straight and that would have been a clear easy simple overtake had it not been a little bit damp at that point.
“The point I pulled out it wasn’t damp, the track was going left, I was squeezed slightly to the right, and that’s where the dampness was.
“Should I have reacted how I did afterwards in the heat of the moment? Probably not no, but as I said the emotions are incredibly high. We exchanged words and that’s it.”
“I’ve never been in a position where I’m fighting against a Mercedes, Williams has probably not been there in probably five years, so it’s not even crossed my mind how I would fight against a Mercedes.
“As I said it was not a reckless move, the move was totally on, Valtteri defended hard and he was fair to do so.
“We were three-quarters of a way down the so called straight, it wasn’t like I lunged from 20 metres back and crashed into the side of him,” concluded the Williams driver.
