AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
REIGNING Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has come out in support of George Russell after the McLaren driver tendered an apology following a dramatic high speed crash with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas.
This is what Hamilton said to Russell: ” Strength comes from vulnerability. If you don’t make mistake you can never learn the lesson. Respect for taking responsibility. On to the next one.”
Twenty four hours after the crash at the 2021 Emilia Romagna F1 race at Imola, which took both drivers after the race, Russell said he had time to reflect.
In a statement, the F1 driver said:
“Yesterday wasn’t my proudest day. I knew it would be one of our best opportunities to score points this season and, when those points matter as much as they do to us right now, sometimes you take risks. It didn’t pay off and I have to take responsibility for that. Having had time to reflect on what happened afterwards, I know I should have handled the whole situation better. Emotions can run high in the heat of the moment and yesterday mine got the better of me.
“I apologise to Valterri, to my team and to anyone who felt let down by my actions. That’s not who I am and expect more of myself, as I know others expect more from me. I’ve learned some tough lessons this weekend and will come out of this a better driver and a better person for the experience. Now it’s focus on Portugal and a chance to show what I’m really about. Thanks for all the messages, both positive and negative. They will all help me grow.”
This is what Bottas said after race:
“I’m okay physically. It was a half-decent shunt but obviously could have been a lot worse at that speed. George got close and decided to go for a move. Obviously the track is quite narrow, there is only one dry line and he went for the outside, there was space all the time for two cars but he obviously lost the car and hit me. I haven’t spoken to him so far: I couldn’t hear a thing … what he was on about and obviously we will have a different perspective on it. It was a tough race until then, from where I started it wasn’t easy to make ground. But I need to take whatever positives I can from this weekend and move on.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolf said:
the crash between George and Valtteri was unnecessary. Valtteri had a difficult first 30 laps and shouldn’t have been there but George should have never launched into this manoeuvre considering that the track was drying up. It meant taking risks and the other car is a Mercedes in front of him and in any drivers’ development as a young driver you must never lose this global perspective. Lots to learn for him I guess.
Russel’s statement followed a backlash on social media, where fans expressed their shock and anger at his reaction.
