F1: George Russell, blow, pain and to the district hospital in Mexico

The Englishman lost control of his Mercedes in the second practice and hit the barriers hard.

The first day of the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix will be remembered for its heavy crashes.. After the hit that Alex Albon received in first practice when he rammed the Ferrari driven by Ollie Bierman (there was no FIA sanction for anyone), In the second session it was the turn of George Russell and his Mercedes.

Of the hour and a half specially allocated for the second training session, not even 13 minutes had passed. (he was entirely dedicated to Pirelli testing their 2025 experimental compound) when the Mercedes driver lost control at turn nine (one before the Albon episode) and, Having completely lost control, he found himself at the bars.

Russell climbed off the W15 under his own power, but showed signs of pain. Limping slightly, he walked to the doctor’s car and was taken to the Hermanos Rodriguez Medical Center. The blow was fast, strong and sideways. In motorsports, side impacts are the ones the driver feels the most.

Ex-Williams stepped on a curb near the fastest corners of the Mexican highway, and the floor of his Mercedes bounced off the ground three times. This deprived him of absolutely all downforce, he turned around and flew straight into the barriers. In the US standings, something similar happened to Franco Colapinto: his FW46 bounced off the floor while exiting the roadside and ended up on its side. Although he finally got the hang of it, he was unable to make it past the first quarter.