George Russell Says Goodbye To W14 By Crashing It In Post-Season Testing

Wednesday, 29 November 2023 at 02:00

Updated at Saturday, 02 December 2023 at 18:16

Mercedes F1 driver George Russell had a crash during the post-season testing at Yas Marina Circuit following the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

George Russell recently admitted he had luck in the final race of the season, which helped him achieve his second podium in 2023 and seal second place in the Constructors' Championship for his team.

The British driver said it made up for all his bad lack from previous races this year as he struggled with multiple on-track incidents before the season's final race.

However, just a few days after his statement, the bad luck returned during the post-season testing day at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

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According to RacingNews365, the Mercedes driver suffered a failure of one of the components of his car, which resulted in his crash in turn six.

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Turn six comes as one of the biggest braking points on the Yas Marina Circuit following the longest straight on the track, so it seems like one of the worst places on the track to suffer a component failure.

However, the Mercedes team shared a post on social media after the incident saying Russell was "completely OK," which is good news.

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George's day of testing in Abu Dhabi comes to an early end after an accident caused by a car failure We have the car back and have already begun investigations into what caused the accident Most importantly, George is completely OK 💪

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While the 25-year-old was okay, his car was probably not so much. On the other hand, Russell did Lewis Hamilton a favor by crashing the W14.

Both Mercedes drivers struggled with the W14 all throughout the season. According to speedcafe.com, the seven-time World Champion said at one point of the season he was counting down the days to never have to race W14 again.

So, in the end, Russell crashing the car was a pretty apt way to conclude the 2023 season and say goodbye to the W14 Mercedes car.

The team's principal, Toto Wolff, mentioned Mercedes will be changing their car completely going into the 2024 season, so hopefully, the team can deliver a car that will allow its drivers to compete for race wins and ultimately for the title next season.