Mercedes driver George Russell caused a stir at the Formula 1 race in Barcelona with curious radio messages. © IMAGO/Andrea Diodato
Mercedes driver George Russell delivered a strong race at the Spanish Grand Prix and secured a place on the podium with third place. During the race, the Briton caused astonishment among his own team with curious radio messages.
Barcelona – Russell was at turn five of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the Formula 1 race in Spain when he radioed his team to notify him of rain on the track. At this time, dark rain clouds had gathered near the track.
| George Russell | |
| Date of birth: | February 15, 1998 (25 years old) |
| Nationality: | Great Britain |
| Team: | Mercedes |
| Drivers' standings: | 5 (65. points) |
Formula 1: Russell thinks his own sweat is rain
On lap 32, the Briton inquired whether other riders had reported precipitation. Shortly afterwards, he himself had an explanation for the supposed rain: "I think it's sweat on the inside of my helmet," the Mercedes driver radioed to his team. The answer to the driver: "No one else reports rain. It's probably your sweat."
Mercedes driver mistakes sweat for rain
At the subsequent post-race press conference, the 25-year-old commented on the curious scene, admitting: "It was a bit embarrassing. With the grey clouds and the water stains on the visor, I thought it was rain." As the cause, Russell stated that he had obviously not stowed his hair properly in his balaclava. "That was annoying because I had them in my peripheral field of vision. I still had everything under control," the Briton emphasized afterwards on Sky.
After the race: "Rain, sweat or champagne?"
Despite the mishap, Russell showed a strong race and finished on the podium from twelfth on the grid behind serial winner Max Verstappen and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. This is probably one of the reasons why the Briton was able to laugh at his supposed rain radio message the day after the Grand Prix. On Twitter, he posted a video of the award ceremony showing him being splashed with champagne by Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and wrote: "Is it rain, sweat or champagne? Thank you, Barcelona!".
Formula 1: Another curious radio traffic
The confusion surrounding the supposed rain was not the only curious radio message that the Briton sent during the race. After a risky overtaking manoeuvre, Russell took third place on lap 35. The praise of "solid work" from his race engineer Marcus Dudley was apparently not enough, so Russell asked: "Only solid?". After the race, the reconnaissance: "It was a pretty decent manoeuvre against Carlos. I thought it was a little bit more than 'solid,' but it's just a good joke," Russell said.
