George Russell attacks Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton’s outbursts

Hamilton opens up on plans to remain in F1 ahead of 2023 season

George Russell has blasted Mercedes engineers as he compared the new W14 to a “lame horse”. The 25-year-old even explained the new model was likely to “throw you off” like a horse as he hinted it was not happy that “someone wants to ride it”.

Russell concluded that the partnership needed to “get used to each other” but felt there was still “a lot of performance” to discover. He made the remarks when asked how difficult it had been to acclimatise to the new model.

He told German newspaper Bild: “It is comparable to riding a horse. A Mercedes is a faster horse than a Williams. But it’s not just about speed. Riding a horse from A to B and it doesn’t zig is like sitting in a Formula One car that suits your driving style. One merges into another.

“At the moment, however, we have a lame horse. We know that it has a lot of performance in it, but it is not happy that someone wants to ride it and the way of riding style does not suit him either.

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“It still has its own head, which sometimes runs the risk of throwing you off. We still have to get used to each other and develop it so that it becomes fast and tame.”

It’s set to heap pressure on Mercedes boss Toto Wolff who has now had two drivers tear aprt the concept.

Russell’s comments come just weeks after Lewis Hamilton publicly criticised Mercedes bosses. The seven-time champion stressed chiefs had not listened to him over the development direction of the W14 which had backfired.

The Briton had even demanded “accountability” as he called on individuals to “own up” to their mistakes. Hamilton later revealed his remarks had gone too far.

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 But, he then appeared to double down on his assertions as the 38-year-old claimed he had enjoyed calling out Mercedes’ mistakes. He explained “I’m one of those people that always likes to be right, but I’m not always right, but, in this scenario, I was right,

“So it was good, it was like – ‘I told you’. It’s a team collaboration. At the end of the day I’m the driver not the designer, but I’m the gateway to the car’s performance.

“What’s important is just owning up to it – ‘ok, I was wrong’ or ‘you were wrong’ or whatever it is, and then just huddle up – ‘we’re a team, so how can we fix it?’.”

Mercedes have lacked pace compared to their rivals with Hamilton or Russell unable to fight for wins. Team boss Toto Wolff has called on engineers to find a solution with new parts expected at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

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