Lewis Hamilton fans are demanding Mercedes fire George Russell and sign Valtteri Bottas.

Mercedes has been accused of making a mistake in signing George Russell as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate.

Some Lewis Hamilton fans have accused Mercedes of making a mistake in hiring George Russell to replace Valtteri Bottas last season, following Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

It was an eventful race for Mercedes and arguably for all the wrong reasons, as Hamilton and Russell spent more time fighting than the other drivers.

The first of the duo’s three battles at Suzuka took place in the opening lap, with Russell passing brilliantly in the final stage. The struggle continued approaching Turn 1, when Hamilton regained positions thanks to DRS support.
Hamilton then opened up a small gap to his 25-year-old teammate, before the seven-time world champion retired at Turn 9 on lap 16.

This allowed Russell to attack through Turn 12 and into Turns 13 and 14, where the Mercedes drivers were side by side.

Hamilton maintained the inside line and position, but ran wide causing both drivers to drift slightly off the circuit.

The incident was noted by the stewards but did not require investigation, although Russell was disappointed by Hamilton’s behaviour. Russell then switched to a one-stop strategy after the incident, which saw him move forward in the closing stages.

However, due to poor tire wear compared to those following the two-stop strategy, the former Williams driver dropped to seventh place at the end of the race.

One of the drivers passing was Hamilton, although the team had to ask Russell to let the 103-time race winner pass.

The two were together longer than necessary, allowing Carlos Sainz to catch up.
Hamilton is fifth, two places ahead of Russell. Their battle has now convinced Hamilton fans that Mercedes made a mistake in signing Russell, who one supporter called “responsible”.

“As I said last week, signing Russell was a mistake. I just don’t think it will be proven every week. He will be a burden in a championship scenario,” @F1_Jordan wrote on Twitter/X.

Some fans agreed with this view and criticized Mercedes for not making it clear who their number one driver was. “Certainly, I expected more from Mercedes in terms of their driver management. I don’t recognize this team at all,” @Farinho_10 commented