Formula 1 drivers are known to show their emotion, but rarely do things get physical like they did at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
A life and death sport that spikes adrenaline like no other at 230mph, George Russell was once left admitting he ‘lost the plot’ during a trackside altercation.
The Emilia Romagna race, or Imola as it’s known among fans due to the town it’s situated in, returned to the F1 calendar in 2020 and a year later staged a headline-making bust-up.
Off the radar since 2006, its emergency return during COVID was certainly helpful, but it soon proved that modern cars are sadly too big for one of motorsport’s classic circuits.
Overtakes were at a premium upon its comeback, and if that wasn’t obvious enough, George Russell then learned things the hard way.
A back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 champion, the Brit could’ve hardly had a more challenging start to life in the top tier as he was stuck with F1’s slowest team at the time – Williams.
Without a point in 38 races with the British squad, rain and chaos in Imola opened the chance of taking his first on a drying track and up ahead was the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, on the wrong tyres and strategy.
Russell spotted his chance at the first corner of the track, a high speed kink to the right.
Yet when he pulled to the Finn’s right his wheel touched the wet white paint trackside and his car instantly darted left, into Bottas, ending both of their races in an instant.
“What the f*** is he doing, honestly, is he a ****** or what?!” Russell said over team radio, with both drivers thankfully OK after what Bottas called ‘a big one’.
So big was the incident that Russell couldn’t cool down, and once out of his Williams, went over to confront Bottas and gave him a slap on the helmet and the No.77 responded with a middle finger.
“He obviously lost it and hit me,” Bottas said after debriefing with the media.
“Obviously the track is quite narrow and there’s only one dry line and he went from the outside. There was space all the time for two cars, but it didn’t make any sense, that move.
“I haven’t spoken to him. I couldn’t hear a thing he was on about [when he slapped his helmet]. I don’t really get it. It was clearly his fault and I don’t understand the rage.”
Unsurprisingly, Russell had the complete opposite view on things, fuming as he blamed the elder statesman.
“Between all the drivers we’ve had this gentleman’s agreement where if there’s a faster car approaching with the DRS you don’t jolt the steering wheel at the very last moment,” he explained.
“I got the slipstream, and just as I pulled out, Valtteri moved very slightly and that just put me off line and put me onto the wet stuff.
“In perfectly dry conditions on a very ordinary circuit it’s dangerous, let alone on a very narrow circuit when we are turning and there are wet patches.
“So an unfortunate incident, but it’s been inevitable an incident like that would occur when drivers make small moves like this.
“It’s the smallest of moves, but when you’re going at 220mph and you’re going 30mph quicker than the car ahead, it’s massive.”
He then went into a whole other narrative, as the younger Brit was contending for Bottas’ seat at the time for the following season.
“I’m sure from his perspective he feels like it’s my fault, I’ve got no doubt about that,” he said before dropping the bomb.
“He knows it’s not the right thing to be doing, if you are fighting for victory on the last lap of the race, maybe. But not in conditions like this, and not when you are fighting for P9.
“It begs the question why he’d do that for P9, and perhaps if it was another driver he wouldn’t have.”
Russell clearly was the more angry, but it was clear both drivers were certain the other was in the wrong.
Yet both the stewards and the court of public opinion disagreed with them, as no penalty was handed out to either as the crash was deemed ‘a racing incident’.
However, Russell had another problem, his conduct after the crash.
His slap of Bottas, language on the radio and fume in the media pen cast doubt over his chances of replacing the Finn, something he’d clearly realised few days later once he’d cooled down.
Posting on social media, he wrote: “Yesterday wasn’t my proudest day.
“I knew it would be one of our best opportunities to score points this season and, when those points matter as much as they do to us right now, sometimes you take risks. It didn’t pay off and I have to take responsibility for that.
“Having had time to reflect on what happened afterwards, I know I should have handled the whole situation better.
“Emotions can run high in the heat of the moment and yesterday mine got the better of me. I apologise to Valtteri, to my team and to anyone who felt let down by my actions.
“That’s not who I am and I expect more from myself, as I know others expect more from me.
“I’ve learned some tough lessons this weekend and will come out of this a better driver and a better person for the experience.
“Thanks for all the messages, both positive and negative. They will all help me to grow.”
Thankfully for Russell, the episode didn’t deter Mercedes’ CEO and team principal Toto Wolff, who did later make the call to ditch Bottas for the up-and-coming talent.
Russell would go on to score points on four occasions for Williams that season with his first in Hungary bringing him to tears and his second in Belgium an incredible second as the race was rained off.
He’s since become one of F1’s best drivers, with three wins and 19 podiums to his name at Mercedes and a 2025 campaign that’s arguably been the best on the grid.
But returning to Imola this weekend, he certainly won’t have fond memories of turn one, something he can now joke about, at least through gritted teeth.
“I made myself look a bit of a d***,” he reflected. “If I look back on how I handled that, I’d probably laugh at myself and say, ‘What were you doing?’
“I just looked like an idiot, like I’d lost the plot. And to be honest, for a second, I probably did lose the plot.”
