Mercedes accused of favoring George Russell over Lewis Hamilton this season. The team principal revealed that they had to involve the police after accusations of sabotage to Hamilton’s car surfaced. The accusations suggest that Mercedes prioritized Russell in their performance decisions.
Earlier this year, Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes after 12 successful seasons, during which he won six world championships. However, Hamilton did not have an ideal start to his final season with the team. He has struggled to secure podiums and victories, falling short of the fairytale ending he had imagined.
In contrast, George Russell had a comparatively better start to the season. He outperformed Hamilton in the rankings on eight occasions. Toto Wolff, the team principal, repeatedly dismissed these accusations as unfounded. He claims that it is inconceivable for Mercedes to sabotage one driver’s car in favor of another.
Mercedes took the matter seriously and reported an anonymous sabotage email to the police. Toto Wolff emphasizes the need to address threats and comments of this nature, as online abuse is a significant concern nowadays. He reassures that Hamilton has a special place within the team and that they would never consider such actions.
The Mercedes engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, highlights some positive aspects after the FP1 and FP2 sessions in Barcelona. The team finished fourth and first in those sessions, respectively, indicating a productive afternoon.
Mercedes has shown promising performance during the training sessions throughout the season. However, they have struggled to maintain the same pace during qualifying. Despite frequently leading the training sessions, they have only managed to secure one pole position in nine races.
Lewis Hamilton conquered the fastest time in FP2 and aims to maintain this momentum to secure a better starting position on Sunday. George Russell finished in fourth place in both FP1 and FP2, but hopes to improve his pace, considering the impressive performance of the W15 in Barcelona’s high-speed corners.
