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Mercedes star George Russell was furious with his team at the 2025 Mexican GP as his request was staggered by the Brackley-based outfit. The Briton raged at Mercedes for the same on the team radio, and the delay in the decision led to Oscar Piastri catching up to him.
George Russell started the race in P5, but was overtaken by Max Verstappen into Turn 1 as the Dutchman cut across the corner, which led to a lengthy team radio from the Briton. As Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen battled it out, Russell was caught out, and Oliver Bearman overtook both the Mercedes and the Red Bull.
After the first round of pit stops, George Russell came out behind Kimi Antonelli, and championship leader Oscar Piastri behind him. As the three drivers passed the cars that hadn't pitted yet, Russell was able to create a two-second lap to the McLaren behind him.
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As the Briton followed his teammate closely, who was then chasing Oliver Bearman for the final spot on the podium, Russell turned to the team and suggested that he was faster than the Italian and requested a position swap.
Russell's race engineer responded that the Briton was free to race his teammate. However, the Mercedes driver was not able to overtake Kimi Antonelli, and it eventually led to Oscar Piastri catching back up to the Mercedes. The same led to a furious message from George Russell on the team radio, as he said,
“I've got a f***ing McLaren up my a**. Want me to let him pass?”
“No, thank you,” responded the race engineer
“Ah, I was just checking,” added George Russell
Antonelli, Russell, and Piastri then formed a DRS train before Mercedes eventually gave the team orders to swap the drivers.
George Russell's team radio about giving the position back to Kimi Antonelli led to the Mercedes swap
After multiple requests for a driver swap, George Russell took to the team radio and suggested that he would give the position back to Kimi Antonelli in case the Briton was not able to pass Oliver Bearman. The team radio was,
“I’m happy to give the position back to Kimi if I can't overtake Bearman. We're just compromising both our races. I've got so much more pace here guys.”
The next team radio from Russell was about him cooking his tires while running closely behind his teammate in an attempt to overtake. Mercedes eventually heard the Briton's plea and instructed Antonelli to swap positions.
Russell was not able to overtake Bearman during the stint, and all four drivers ( the Haas, two Mercedes, and Oscar Piastri's McLaren) pitted for a second pitstop. After the second stop, Piastri made a crucial move on Russell to get up into P5, and chased Bearman for P4.
