A former Formula 1 world champion has described George Russell as ‘desperate’ after what he suggested was an ‘aggressive move’ during the Japanese Grand Prix.
Russell’s season has got off to a frustrating start, with the 26-year-old clearly outperforming seven-time world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton, yet still sitting down in seventh in the drivers’ championship.
The British driver attempted an overtake on Oscar Piastri during the closing laps of the Japanese GP, forcing the Australian off the track to avoid a collision.
No further action was taken as the FIA deemed the collision to be a racing incident, in which Russell should have been allowed more ‘racing room’.
George Russell Japanese GP 2024
Oscar Piastri was unimpressed by George Russell
Damon Hill calls Russell move ‘desperate’
Despite the stewards decision, some believed Russell’s move to be over the edge, including former F1 world champion Damon Hill.
“I thought that was a little bit of an aggressive move actually,” Hill told Sky Sports F1.
“Quite a risky one, required Oscar to take evasive action. So a bit desperate from George.”
Russell was also at the centre of controversy at the Australian GP, claiming a Fernando Alonso “brake-test” caused him to DNF on the final lap of the race.
Speaking after the Japanese GP, Russell described the move on Piastri as a ‘racing incident’.
“It was an exciting race towards the end. It’s always nice to be attacking rather than defending, and it was good, hard racing. There was some contact with Oscar, which was a racing incident, but I was glad to get the position in the end,” he said.
George Russell and Damon Hill
“We moved forward today and that was positive. The plan to start on the hard tyre after the red flag was to give us the flexibility to attempt either a one-stop or a two-stop.
“It was good to have this freedom and, ultimately, we ended up on the two-stop strategy as the one stop wasn’t working. We had a challenging opening stint but after that first stop, our pace looked competitive to those ahead.”
