Lewis Hamilton is a legend of Formula 1, especially with Mercedes. He has won 6 drivers’ titles with Mercedes and dearly hopes for a 7th one. However, in 223, Mercedes have snubbed him twice when he was on the podium. Interestingly, George Russell had DNF-ed in both of these races, the latest being the Singapore GP.
Hamilton Greeted by Rival Teams
Lewis Hamilton has truly outgrown the sport and garners respect from all corners. Therefore, it was no surprise that representatives from both McLaren and Ferrari greeted and congratulated him after the Singapore GP. However, fans noticed a distinct lack of Mercedes crew and personnel. Incidentally, this isn’t the first time this has happened in the 2023 Formula 1 season.
James Allison Explains
Mercedes technical director, James Allison answered what a lot of fans wondered after the Singapore GP. He said that the Mercedes team had come down to the podium to greet Lewis Hamilton. However, the cameras chose to pan to Ferrari and McLaren because they were larger in number. A lot of the Mercedes crew had to stay back to collect George Russell’s car from the marshalls.
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“Of course, the team was there at the podium to celebrate with Lewis. We love standing there and clapping and cheering for our driver. Necessarily, a certain amount of the team had to stay in the garage during that event because we needed to receive George’s car back from the marshals who were bringing it back into the pit lane.”
“But the cameras do not show everything and the big story there was of course the first win this year for a non-Red Bull team. So, showing all of the overjoyed Ferrari faces was very high up the list of things that made for good TV and indeed the pleasure from the McLaren folk as well.”
Hamilton Snubbed Down Under as Well
During the Australian GP, George Russell was enjoying a better race than Lewis Hamilton. He then pitted just before a red flag and then retired with a mechanical failure. Lewis Hamilton bagged a second-place finish in the race.
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There was a clear lack of Mercedes personnel after that race as well. Formula 1 fans saw heart-breaking footage of Lewis Hamilton just after the race finished. I
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