Updated
@MercedesAMGF1 Crimes Against George Russell
Barcelona-Catalunya:
Started from pole. Then he was brought in first, with the strategy deliberately changed to help AKA close the gap, without even informing George. As a result, he kept driving in tyre-saving mode. He was pitted while his tyres still had no real degradation, wasting his tyre advantage. During the stop, the team also adjusted the front wing incorrectly, putting the car into serious oversteer, as later admitted in the Race Debrief. That was why his lap times collapsed at the end and he was overtaken. Mercedes destroyed his chance at P1. And when he stood on the podium for his 100th race with Mercedes, the team was too busy comforting his DNF teammate to even show up.
Monaco:
After qualifying, George reported that the car had less grip than in FP3 and was suffering from oversteer. So why was the car suddenly changed after FP3? In the race, he had a real shot at P3 or P4, with a 15-second gap available before the pit stop phase. Yet the team seemed entirely focused on their other driver and failed to remember the 5-second pit-lane speeding penalty. What should have been a podium fight turned into a finish outside the points. And after the race, the pit-lane speeding penalty was proven to be an FIA error, but Mercedes did not appeal for him or even attend the hearing. Out of all 11 teams, only two teams were absent: Mercedes and Williams. Williams had no driver penalised in the case, so their absence was understandable. Mercedes, however, stayed away even though their own driver had suffered the consequences. Seven days later, only after public pressure grew too loud, Mercedes finally appealed.
Montreal:
Pole in Sprint Qualifying. P1 in the Sprint. Pole in Grand Prix Qualifying. Leading the race in P1. And yet, from later interviews, we learned that even in Montreal, the car still wasn’t exactly comfortable for him to drive. He was simply extremely strong at this circuit and managed to take P1 through constant adjustments and compensation. Because this car is not built around him. Every upgrade, every setup direction, every development trend is shaped around the other driver. In the end, a battery failure took him from P1 to DNF.
Miami:
Poor qualifying release strategy. At Miami, going out later is usually an advantage, yet they sent George out first with fuel for two laps.
Another setup failure. For most of the race, the car simply wasn’t in the window. Then, in the final 10 laps, George adjusted the settings himself and suddenly found the pace. He immediately gained around 0.8 seconds per lap, proving the setup had been wrong from the start. Fixing the car’s setup shouldn’t be the driver’s job.
Suzuka:
Setup failure. The car was sliding everywhere, forcing George to compensate by adjusting the front wing balance and limiting the car’s pace.
Before his pit stop, George said the tyres were fine, suggesting there was no need to pit yet, but the team trusted the data over the driver. He pitted straight into a yellow flag situation. What should have been P2 became P4.
Shanghai: Forgot to ignite the car properly. The car stopped on track in Q2. What should have been P1 became P2.
At this point, Mercedes looks less like a racing team and more like an organisation willing to disrespect its own people, ignore accountability, and collectively bully a loyal and talented driver who has given years of his career to the team.