Formula 1 Spanish GP
Russell admits rain/sweat confusion during Spanish GP was "embarrassing"
George Russell says the extreme braking forces aboard his Mercedes Formula 1 car flicked sweat onto his visor to make him think it was raining in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Matt Kew
Edited: Jun 6, 2023, 4:57 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The upgraded W14 proved effective in the warmer race temperatures to enable Russell to jump from 12th on the grid to third place to complete a double podium behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Rain, which had hit the track during Saturday practice, had threatened to disrupt the event but never materialised. However, Russell did briefly ask his race engineer Marcus Dudley at half-distance if any other driver had reported rain when he spotted drops on his helmet visor.
But it soon transpired that these were his own sweat, with Russell having not properly tucked his hair inside his balaclava. So, when he was braking, the beads were flicking forwards under the forces.
He explained the confusion, saying: "I had my hair dangling down in the first stint - I think I didn't quite get it in my balaclava. That was annoying because it was in my peripheral vision.
"Then, as I was sweating, because it wasn't in my balaclava, it was dripping down onto my face. And then when I was braking, it was coming onto my visor.
"So, with the grey clouds, and then the spots of water on the visor, I thought it was rain. That was a bit of an embarrassing one."
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A523, in the pit lane
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Speaking to Sky Sports, Russell added: "It was really annoying because I was sweating throughout the whole race and it obviously was getting on the inside of the visor so I couldn't wipe it. But I had it all under control."
Russell's radio messages again drew attention after he dived down the inside of Carlos Sainz's Ferrari into Turn 1 on lap 35 of 66 for third place.
Read Also:
- Wolff: Mercedes needed early F1 season "shock" to be bold with car change
- Hamilton: New Mercedes F1 deal could be signed "tomorrow"
- Tsunoda slams "ridiculous" F1 Spanish GP penalty for Zhou defence
Dudley responded with "Solid work" to which Russell asked: "Just solid?". Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff replied: "It was very good".
Explaining the back and forth, Russell said: "It was just a bit of a joke with Marcus… Toto likes the big radio messages of encouragement.
"Marcus and I sometimes say, 'Just be nice and calm in a situation, it is sometimes the best way to get the result'.
"It was a pretty decent move on Carlos. I thought it was a little bit more than 'solid', but it's just a good laugh!"
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ferrari struggling to understand consistency issue with F1 car
Next article Aston Martin F1 at a loss to explain Spanish GP soft stint woes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Matt Kew
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
More from
George Russell
Christian Horner: Kimi Antonelli has 'earned' the right to be Mercedes' number one
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
12 h
Christian Horner: Kimi Antonelli has 'earned' the right to be Mercedes' number one
More from
Mercedes
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
8 h
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
Portimão
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
Latest news
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
2 h
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
6 h
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 6 h
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
7 h
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe