Formula 1 delivered its promise last night with an enticing qualifying session. Ferrari and Red Bull dominated the evening, but Valtteri Bottas’ impressive lap in Q3 surprised the fans. As a result, the Finn finished P6. Meanwhile, the man who replaced Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes, George Russell, had a night to forget as he finished 3 places behind the Alfa Romeo driver.
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The pair have a history when Russell in a Williams crashed into Bottas in Imola last year. The British driver’s hot-headed reaction to the crash did not go well among his current employers.
F1 journalist Will Buxton, took to Twitter to defend Russell as the 24-year-old struggled in his first qualifying with Mercedes. However, the fans on Twitter did not take Buxton’s opinion well and criticized the Englishman for defending George Russell.
Will Buxton defends George Russell
The qualifying session of the Sakhir Grand Prix witnessed a lot of unexpected results which pleased F1 fans. Valtteri Bottas in an Alfa Romeo sparkled in his first qualifying session as he finished P6. At the same time, George Russell and Mercedes struggled to get within touch of the two front-running teams, with the British driver ending up in P9 and behind Valtteri Bottas.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 19, 2022 Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas after qualifying in fifth place REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Russell and Bottas are not on the best of terms after their crash in Imola last season. The 24-year-old crashed into Bottas while trying to overtake him.
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The Mercedes team, including Toto Wolff, did not like Russell’s reaction and his comments on Bottas after the crash. And that sparked a tense moment between the two as they were both in contention for the Mercedes seat ahead of this season.
Fans’ reaction to Will Buxton’s comment
After Russell’s disappointing qualifying session, popular F1 journalist Will Buxton justified his case for the Brit. He also believed that it is unfair to quote Russell’s comments on Bottas after the Imola crash. The tweet read, “Seen a lot of people pulling out that post Imola ‘21 George quote about a Merc in P9…”
Seen a lot of people pulling out that post Imola ‘21 George quote about a Merc in P9. It’s a cheap, lazy shot.
The fans, however, did not react well to Buxton’s tweet. They believed that Russell’s underperformance yesterday deserved criticism and called him out for his biased tweet. Here are some reactions:
He didn't want to be in 9th.. cause there's 8 drivers ahead of him
Does he pay you to tweet this lmfao
Seen a lot of people pulling out that post Imola ‘21 George quote about a Merc in P9. It’s a cheap, lazy shot.
And it was a cheap, lazy shot back then by Russel my guy. It goes both ways. :)
Seen a lot of people pulling out that post Imola ‘21 George quote about a Merc in P9. It’s a cheap, lazy shot.
Live by the sword. Die by the sword. This is Formula One mate.
Seen a lot of people pulling out that post Imola ‘21 George quote about a Merc in P9. It’s a cheap, lazy shot.
No, it's called a joke, an observation, it's fan banter. Heck, call it irony. Is losing all concept of reality a requisite of being employed by #F1? I'm starting to think we need to set up an official deprogramming charity for when folk find themselves freed from the cult.
Seen a lot of people pulling out that post Imola ‘21 George quote about a Merc in P9. It’s a cheap, lazy shot.
It was a cheap lazy shot to begin with from George. You get what you give
I don’t remember you defending Checo this way last year… So Russell can’t be mocked but Checo is ok 🤔 Don’t let me start with the way Bottas was treated 😂
Seen a lot of people pulling out that post Imola ‘21 George quote about a Merc in P9. It’s a cheap, lazy shot.
The highly-anticipated opening race of the season is set to kick off tomorrow. The fans are in for a treat as the season is sure to be full of close racing and exciting battles on the track. And they will be excited to see how the battle between Valtteri Bottas and George Russell ends.
Will the Finn get better off the Russell or will the Brit overcome the almighty challenge?
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