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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was fuming on George Russell's team radio after he was penalized with a five-second penalty. Russell was battling with Valtteri Bottas for the position, which saw the former Mercedes driver being pushed out of the track limits. The race control deemed it penalty-worthy and reprimanded the British driver.
George Russell himself couldn't believe it when he was informed about the penalty. He replied on his radio using just one word.
"What?!"
Toto Wolff supported Russell's claim:
"Total joke George with the penalty. Total joke".
The former Williams driver started from the pit lane after he had crashed out during qualifying. Mercedes also suffered a big blow in their championship battle after Lewis Hamilton's mistake finished his race in the opening stages of the race.
Russell's penalty was even more surprising, considering Max Verstappen escaped any consequences in his opening lap tussle with Lando Norris. However, Yuki Tsunoda was awarded a five-second penalty later in the race for the same reason.
George Russell reacts after "disappointing day" in the US GP qualifying
The United States F1 GP qualifying was brought to a premature end after George Russell crashed his Mercedes in Q3. The crash recorded a G force of 50+ and helped Lando Norris win pole position at COTA.
Russell's Mercedes suffered extensive damage after a collision with barriers. Thankfully, the 26-year-old said that he was fine after the collision, on his team radio. He tweeted:
"Yesterday was a very disappointing day. The team has worked so hard bringing upgrades to the car, which showed great potential on Friday. Yesterday, we didn’t seem to have that pace and I was pushing beyond the limit, ultimately paying the price with the crash".
The King's Lynn man also added:
"Today’s a new day and the team have done an amazing job fixing the car overnight. Unfortunately, we will have to start from the pitlane, but I’ll be giving it absolutely everything to do their hard work justice."
Russell is seventh in the WDC, behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton, whose crash gave him a chance to close the gap to the seven-time F1 champion.
