Russell explains Mexico GP radio fury amid missed podium chance

Sparks flew over the airwaves in last Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix as George Russell butted heads with his race engineer on Mercedes' team radio. 

After what he described as a “frustrating” race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Russell shed light on the delay in team orders that left him stuck behind rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli when he felt he had the pace to push forward.

The tension crept in on lap 35, when Russell radioed for permission to pass Antonelli. Convinced he could snag a podium, Russell pleaded over the radio: “We got a Ferrari and a Haas ahead, we can fight for the podium here!”

Mercedes’ response? A tepid “free to race” call, but no firm team orders to let him pass. The delay had Russell seeing red, and by lap 38, his sarcasm was sharper than a switchblade.

“Do you want me to let this McLaren pass?” he snapped, before laying it on thick: “I'm happy to give the position back to Kimi if I can't overtake Bearman. We are just compromising both our races here, guys.”

As McLaren’s Oscar Piastri loomed in his mirrors, Russell’s race engineer, Marcus Dudley, warned, “Rear surface temperatures are sky-high, George.”

But Russell, feeling the heat of a faster car breathing down his neck, wasn’t having it.

“Marcus, I've got an ****ing car in my ****. A car much quicker than ours. I'm trying to hold position. I've got much more pace than Kimi here and we can fight for a podium. I'm happy to give the position back if we don't achieve it,” he fired back, his voice dripping with exasperation.

Too Little, Too Late

Mercedes finally greenlit a position swap on lap 41, but for Russell, it was like getting a green light at a red flag.

“Yeah, I mean, I had a lot of pace in those laps and would have been able to attack Ollie, who had no DRS. Obviously, I was in the DRS train behind Kimi. I think we left it 10 laps,” he told Sky Sports F1 post-race, his frustration still raw.

“By that point, my tyres overheated, my brakes were overheating. The engine was overheating. So by that point, there was sort of no point in doing it. It was either do it straight away or don't do it at all.

“So in the end, we deserve to finish where we did. A bit frustrating.”

Russell tried to make the overtake stick but couldn’t, graciously handing the position back to Antonelli and crossing the line in seventh.

The missed opportunity stung, and his fiery radio exchanges laid bare a Mercedes strategy that left him high and dry and a bit hot under the collar, and Mercedes with questions to answer about whether their hesitation cost the team a shot at the podium.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook