20/04/2021
NEWS STORY
World champion, Lewis Hamilton offers encouragement to George Russell following the Briton's apology to Mercedes teammate for Imola clash.
Other than who exactly was responsible for Sunday's incident in which George Russell and Valtteri Bottas collided at one of the most dangerous sections of the infamous Imola circuit, one of the main talking points was the reaction of Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff.
Admitting that under the newly introduced budget cap, repairs to the W12 could compromise the team's update programme, the Austrian suggested that Russell shouldn't have been battling his driver in the first place, even though they were fighting for ninth-place at the time.
When, on Monday evening, Russell issued an apology to the Finn, sceptics understandably wondered not so much whether the Briton actually wrote the words but whether the apology was actually intended for Wolff and his fellow Mercedes bosses.
Among those responding to Russell's apology was Lewis Hamilton, who could well find himself teammate to the Briton next season, or, should he opt to retire, could be replaced by the youngster.
"Strength comes from vulnerability," wrote the seven-time world champion. "If you don't make the mistake you can never learn the lesson.
"Respect for taking responsibility," he added. "Onto the next one."
Earlier in the weekend, Hamilton had offered similar words of comfort to Lando Norris, following the McLaren driver's regret at a mistake which cost him the front row on Sunday.
"Nobody can knock you for giving it your all," wrote Hamilton. "Amazing lap, it's great to see you and the team shine. Move on, let's race."
In the closing stages of Sunday's race, the pair got to battle for second behind Max Verstappen, until the Mercedes driver eventually got the better of his McLaren rival.