George Russell and Lewis Hamilton battled it out for much of the Japanese Grand Prix. Photo: Getty Images/Bryn Lennon
Max Verstappen's victory at the Japanese Grand Prix secured Red Bull's second consecutive Constructors' Championship. Mercedes, which won eight of those crowns between 2014 and 2021, had to settle for fifth and seventh places. Their progress in closing Red Bull since the start of 2022 remains minimal.
Even after testing the concept and performance of the W13 and W14 for so long, Lewis Hamilton complained that the car's performance at Suzuka (he finished fifth and was 49 behind Verstappen seconds) was the same as last year’s car.
George Russell, with whom he had been in a fairly close battle for much of the race, finished seventh and wrote off his season as a «disaster». The race exposed many problems — present and future — for the team.
Tensions between Russell and Hamilton reach a peak
Hamilton and Russell have a good working relationship and have managed to avoid too much disagreement in their 38 races together. In Suzuka, the tension between the two was as high as ever as they fought in close combat several times, as well as with their team over the radio.
Their first early tussle saw Russell dive inside the final chicane before Hamilton towed straight down the pit and went around the outside at Turn 1 to regain his place. It seemed firm and fair, but not without risk. The two came very close — twice — to contact.
The pair resumed their duel on lap 16 after Hamilton ran past Degner in second. Russell sat directly on its back, trying to get around the outside of the Spoon Curve. Hamilton didn't understand any of this and appeared to force his teammate to run away to save his position.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton race away in Suzuka! 🆚 pic.twitter.com/GBXyUjZlqy
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1), September 24, 2023
Russell, who seemed to be the faster man at the time, immediately radioed his team: “Who do we want to fight here? Each other or the others? After the race, Hamilton admitted he fought hard: “I was definitely aggressive, but I think it was a good race.”
Russell's final battle against Hamilton came in the closing stages. Russell, running fifth and on old hard tyres, was vulnerable to Hamilton, then closely followed by Sainz. His proposal was for Hamilton to remain behind but within DRS range. This will make it more difficult for Sainz to overtake Hamilton, and will make Russell pass his (then faster) teammate on the final lap.
Mercedes overruled this decision, ordering Russell to step aside immediately. They made it clear that this was not a request, but an “instruction.” Russell eventually agreed, but was promptly eaten by Sainz (despite Hamilton's attempt to pass DRS to Russell) en route to a disappointing seventh place. While this was happening, and also after the race, there were exchanges between the team and drivers. Was it all a little messy? Yes. Was it really worth it to Mercedes? Probably not.
'They raced through every tough level'
Bradley Lord says it's easy to read «too much» into radio messages like George Russell and Lewis Hamilton battled away at Suzuka 👇 pic.twitter.com/5rCd1SqHEJ
— Sky Sports F1 (@ SkySportsF1), September 24, 2023
It would be too much of an exaggeration to portray this as a tense situation between the riders threatening to flare up. But this is not nothing.
Strong radio messages in the heat of battle were one thing, but there were some harsh comments after the race. Neither Hamilton nor, it seems, Russell were particularly happy with the situation. «He tried to fight me [and] damaged his tires and I think that just made things harder,» the seven-time champion said of the late-race incident, although he later called it a «nothing.» Hamilton also noted that he «scored more points for the team this year.» Russell called his season a «disaster.»
Both drivers confirmed that their goal was to take Mercedes to second place in the standings. But despite all the talk about the team, personal glory is the number one priority for any driver. This was obvious during and after the race.
It's far from a troubled end to Rosberg's days against Hamilton. However, with the pair now confirmed at Mercedes until the end of 2025, it can be expected that this will not be the last incident of this kind, as both drivers try to assert their dominance with the added dynamics of a team trying — and currently failing — to get even . to the top.
Hamilton takes lead after Russell's 'disastrous' season
Russell had a difficult second year with the team. After the Miami Grand Prix in May, I wrote that with Mercedes not in contention for wins, beating Russell should be Hamilton's top priority in 2023, given he was second in 2022. and perhaps the only) victory Hamilton can achieve this year.»
Five months have passed, and the 38-year-old footballer has achieved this in full. He currently leads his teammate 190 points to 115, with one pole to zero and five podiums to one. Since Russell's last top-three finish in Spain (nine rounds ago), he has finished in the top five just twice.
Russell has shown good form at times since the summer break, but his last-lap crash in Singapore when he was third was an unforgivable mistake. After a serene and relaxed debut year with Hamilton, this season has been messy and patchy. This is in stark contrast to last season, when it was Hamilton who was baffled by the W13 and Russell who made the most of the car he had.
Sometimes he was unlucky, but being on the same level as Lando Norris at this moment was a bad idea. Since the Spanish Grand Prix in May, Norris has led Russell by 103 points to 50. While that gap isn't exactly a gap between Perez and Verstappen, «disaster» is not far away. With Russell's better results, their battle with Ferrari would look rosier.
Lewis Hamilton is currently leading his teammate by 190 points. up to 115 Photo: Getty Images/Mark Thompson Mercedes appears with another team of clients
There will be no weakening of Red Bull this season. But their goal of becoming the next best thing is starting to look a little shaky as they felt pretty comfortable midway through the season. As Hamilton noted after the race, the progress of other Mercedes teams has also improved slightly.
At the start of the year, one customer team, Aston Martin, had an advantage over the factory. outfit, leading on points after Monaco. Now another team buying power units from Mercedes is showing the way to go. After a mid-season update package, McLaren was often the next best team behind Red Bull on Saturdays and Sundays.
From Canada, Mercedes scored 138 points, McLaren 155 and Ferrari 163. The more recent picture is hardly better. After the summer break it was the Mercedes 50, McLaren 61 and Ferrari 84. The team is starting to look stuck.
The 128-point gap between the teams is not what worries Mercedes, but overall performance. The MCL60 trend should definitely be there. This adds another layer of complexity to the race for second place this year. Since the rules are stable, this also raises questions about next year's car.
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