"Oh bugger": George Russell was abruptly interrupted during his interview due to a huge car fire in the pitlane

George Russell's post-qualifying interview was abruptly interrupted by a huge fire in the pitlane of the track at Albert Park. An enormous blaze broke out on a supercar that was entering the pitlane at the start of the Supercars event, which began shortly after qualifying.

As Supercars driver James Courtney entered the pit lane, his front left wheel caught fire, causing the car to become engulfed in flames by the time he stopped. Fortunately, marshals quickly arrived and extinguished the flames, allowing the driver to exit the car unharmed.

During the interview, Russell noticed the incident on TV screens and stopped mid-sentence to watch. He expressed his concern, saying, "Oh bugger," before ensuring the driver's safety before returning to the interview.

George Russell managed to put in the second-fastest lap of the session, with his teammate Lewis Hamilton sitting right behind him in P3. The Briton claimed he was happy with his performance at Albert Park, expressing excitement for Sunday's main race. Russell said:

"We weren't expecting that, that's for sure. A lot of hard work going on back at the factory and here in Melbourne and wow what a session for us. The car felt alive. The lap at the end was right on the limit."

George Russell picked over Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes' main title challenger by former driver

Felipe Massa has endorsed George Russell as the top contender for future championships at Mercedes and expects him to surpass even Lewis Hamilton. However, Massa made it clear that Hamilton should never be underestimated.

In the previous season, Russell joined Mercedes and became Hamilton's teammate for the first time. He not only outperformed his teammates in the Drivers' Championship standings but also claimed his maiden pole position and race victory in Hungary and Sao Paulo, respectively.

Furthermore, the former Williams driver has out-qualified Lewis Hamilton for the third time in 2023.

Despite Mercedes and Hamilton's confidence in producing a better car in 2023 after their struggles with the W13, it seems that they have a long way to go before they can compete for race wins. Red Bull currently holds a significant advantage over Mercedes and is leading the championship.

Speaking about George Russell eventually challenging for the title, Massa told Bild:

“I trust him to do that. Don’t forget: last year, in his first season at Mercedes, he left Lewis behind in the World Championship. An incredible achievement. Before that, only Nico Rosberg in 2016 had achieved this in Lewis’ entire career. George is a top driver.”

With both Mercedes' starting behind the sole Red Bull for Sunday's main race, it will be interesting to see which of the two teams emerges victorious.