'Pay Him Money': Mercedes Should Compensate Russell For What Happened Says Jordan
F1Friday, 02 August 2024 at 20:00
Updated at Saturday, 03 August 2024 at 09:31
Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan suggested it would be a good idea to pay George Russell a reward money for the victory that he lost in Hungary.
According to David Coulthard, Mercedes F1 driver George Russell executed perhaps his best race during the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.
Starting from P6, the 26-year-old drove flawlessly and made a brave call to go for an alternative strategy with which he outsmarted even his own teammate Lewis Hamilton.
He then crossed the finish line in P1, but that didn't count as he was ultimately disqualified because it was found that his car was 1,5 kg under the minimum weight limit.
One has to feel for the British driver who drove a perfect race but was disqualified due to no fault of his own. David Coulthard said on the Formula for Success podcast:
"If you take a managerial role, drivers typically have a win bonus in their contract. It's the team that have underperformed and that the car is under the weight limit."
"So where do you sit in all that? Would you give a driver [a win bonus] if the car was disqualified or is it only if the actual result stands?"
Eddie Jordan used to own and manage an F1 team, so he has a great understanding of the common practice. Concerning Coulthard's questions, he said:
"There is no real right way, and there's no real wrong way on this one. And it comes down to compassion and it comes down to the relationship with the driver and the team and just generally."
"I know Toto. Toto is not a poor man. And he's very astute and very careful. He sees in George a world champion going forward."
Russell has done his part and finished first. So it would seem fair to at least give him the bonus money for the victory, the loss of which was caused by Mercedes's mistake. Jordan added:
"Why not pay him the money? If there's a genuine mistake, which it looks as if it is, that's what he said in his press release."
"Pay him the money. George is not going to miss his next meal over whether he gets it or not. But the reality is you're Mercedes, you're a top team, and you've been surprised how great this driver is. Pay him."
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