George Russell drops f-bomb at Mercedes in unheard F1 team radio fury at Belgian GP
George Russell's furious team radio message following his elimination at the Belgian Grand Prix has been revealed.
George Russell raged at his Mercedes Formula 1 team in an initially unheard radio message following his first-lap retirement at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Russell crashed out on the first lap of Sunday’s race at Spa-Francorchamps after colliding with former team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was penalised for the incident.
Hamilton’s front left tyre caught Russell’s car and sent the Mercedes driver spinning off into the gravel following the tangle at Les Combes.
Immediately after getting beached in the gravel and being eliminated from the race, Russell couldn’t hide his emotions as he let out his fury over team radio.
The expletive exchange was not aired on F1’s broadcast at the time.
"I am out. What the f**k happened with the SoC [State of Charge] down the straight," Russell fumed.
"I had no f**king battery down the straight. Guys, unacceptable. Un-f**king acceptable this whole weekend.”
After the race, Russell said he is “numb to the disappointment” after his latest slice of misfortune in a troubled campaign.
The 28-year-old Briton, who began the year as the clear title favourite, had narrowed Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s championship advantage down to 25 points heading into the weekend.
But Russell’s devastating DNF, coupled with a sixth win in 10 races for Antonelli, has left him a whopping 50 points behind.
"I'm numb to the disappointment now," Russell said. "When it happens so often, you just get used to it.”
Russell added: "I appreciate everyone's working hard to solve the problem, but, you know, I'm stood here [speaking to media] on lap 5 of the race.
”I felt like I was in a good position to fight for the lead up to Turn 1, and then suddenly no power and it's all gone."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff moved to absolve Russell of any blame for his lap one retirement.
"It's two situations here," Wolff told Sky Sports F1
"First is the racing, the accident that happened. It was unfortunate for us, we lost a lot of constructors' points and George [lost] drivers' points.
“And then we had an issue with all Mercedes engines, where we lacked power on the straight. And that bit him badly. It 100% goes on us."
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