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F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher feels George Russell intentionally closed the door on Lewis Hamilton during their clash in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP qualifying. The two Mercedes drivers clashed during the dying stages of Q2 while going for a push lap at the same time.
Hamilton, who was behind Russell at the time, latched on to the slipstream of his Mercedes teammate and lined him up for an overtake around the outside. The whole sequence of events however did not end well as this resulted in the two drivers colliding.
While the Mercedes drivers did put it down to a miscommunication, Ralf Schumacher feels George Russell intentionally closed the door on Lewis Hamilton.
Talking about the incident on the Sky Sports broadcast, Ralf Schumacher stated that the relations between the two drivers are not the best anyway. He believes this could have played the role in George Russell clashing with Lewis Hamilton and said:
“George didn’t want to give Lewis a slipstream and closed the door. This is my analysis. The young challenger wants to replace the top dog. They don’t get along that well privately either.”
Lewis Hamilton needs to apologise to George Russell: Nico Rosberg
Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg also commented on the incident and felt Lewis Hamilton needs to apologise to George Russell.
Talking about the incident, the German said that the move made made by Hamilton would have spoiled Russell's lap. At that stage, Russell was in the drop zone, while the Briton was safe and the move would have effectively cost the young driver a lot more.
Talking to F1 insider, Russell said:
“It reminds me a little of 2016. George didn’t want to let Lewis pass, he but later apologised. But I think Lewis also has to apologize: Because he was behind, he has to be more careful in such a situation on fast laps in qualifying.”
He added:
“It was unfortunate, but I think there are certainly still serious discussions. We mustn’t forget that this rivalry at Mercedes is already intense: George is really there, he’s pushing Lewis very hard.”
For some, the incident brought back memories of what happened in 2016 when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed out on the first lap of the race. Fortunately, this particular incident might not have that repercussions that big and the drivers will hope to recover their positions in the race on Sunday (June 4).
