George Russell’s position as Mercedes team leader is secure but his future team-mate may now be a troubling selection.
Mercedes are reportedly in talks with Fernando Alonso as Toto Wolff lines up the two-time world champion as a direct replacement for the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. However, this move may not be so popular with George Russell, who was on the receiving end of some ‘potentially dangerous’ driving from the Spaniard in Australia.
“At the end of the season, Hamilton will be leaving the Silver Arrows, so Wolff has been searching for a replacement. Even though Esteban Ocon is part of the Mercedes family and Carlos Sainz, who won the Australian Grand Prix, is available, Wolff is supposedly considering Alonso for the position.”
According to German newspaper Bild, Mercedes have already held talks with Alonso’s representatives and the 42-year-old has a ‘good chance’ of landing a drive with the Silver Arrows for the 2025 campaign.
Should Alonso join forces with Russell next season, Mercedes will have one of the most capable driver line-ups on the grid, but some work may need to be done on the internal dynamics of that relationship following a sketchy moment at the Australian GP.
Alonso and Russell were competing for the sixth position, with Russell narrowing the gap to half a second on the last lap.
As they were nearing turn six, Russell unexpectedly braked earlier than usual, surprising Alonso and causing the Mercedes driver to spin off into the gravel and retire from the race.
After hitting the wall on the outside of turn seven, Russell stopped in the middle of the track and urgently requested a red flag through the team radio.
Luckily, there were no other cars nearby at that moment, preventing a potentially dangerous second collision.
Russell talked to Sky Sports F1 about Alonso’s actions after the race, stating that it was evident he braked 100 meters before the corner and then accelerated again, taking the corner as usual.
He mentioned that the data of this incident had already been reviewed. He later said, “I won’t make any accusations until we have more information.
I was closely following him for several laps.
I was just half a second behind him before the corner. But then, he abruptly slowed down significantly and accelerated again.” The stewards were not happy with Alonso’s defensive actions.
After a thorough review, the experienced Spanish driver was given a 20-second penalty and received three penalty points on his super license.
This caused him to go from P6 to P8 in the final race standings.