George Russell reveals details of unanswered phone call to Valtteri Bottas
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At the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, they blamed each other for a collision which forced both drivers out of the race.Tensions were especially fraught because then-Williams driver Russell was hoping to succeed Bottas at Mercedes, which did eventually happen at the end of 2021.”I did give him a phone call,” Russell told Beyond The Grid about the in Italy.“He didn’t answer.”My message was: ‘Give me a call when you have a moment’. “But we’ve never spoken about that , ever. “We’ve never spoken about me joining Mercedes. We’ve never spoken about any of that. “We often have normal chats with not a single ounce of awkwardness. It’s just part of the business, part of the job and it’s never personal.”
Months after the , Mercedes confirmed that Russell would replace Bottas as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate for 2022.Russell and Bottas’ tetchy history dates back to 2020 when the young Brit was a one-race replacement for the unwell Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix.Russell, driving a Mercedes for the first time, overtook Bottas in a major sign of intent.He later claimed it was one of the most important manoeuvres of his career: “Because of how much that meant given the circumstances. “The fact I was trying to jump in that Mercedes, and there wasn’t a better chance for me to prove what I could do.”Related Russell takes blame for P2 not being “sewn up already” for Mercedes Russell feels he’s “performing better than ever” despite points deficit
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