F1 News: Photographers Cause Disruption As They Run Out In Front Of George Russell's Mercedes

George Russell calls out photographers who were in the way of the cars during the British Grand Prix practice sessions.

Mercedes driver George Russell was heard complaining over his team radio during the free practice sessions of the British Grand Prix today that the photographers were in the way of the cars in the pit lane. 

The British driver was keen to make sure his team managed to get a shot of the photographers so they could send it to the FIA afterwards. Russell said to his race engineer:

“These photographers…. Ron, can we clip that video and send it to the FIA again? They’re just all over the show.”

📻 | George Russell: “These photographers…. Ron, can we clip that video and send it to the FIA again? They’re just all over the show.” pic.twitter.com/krgbgGWNJe

— deni (@fiagirly) July 7, 2023

This is not the first time that photographers and staff members have been allowed to crowd the pit lane. The moment reminded many of the scary incident at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when Esteban Ocon entered the pits to find a crowd of photographers crossing the entrance lane. Thankfully, no one was hurt but it was an extremely close call. 

There has not been any further information regarding the process of putting this to the FIA but it is clear that more safety measures need to be put in place to ensure that no one is hurt. 

The Mercedes team seemed to struggle during the practice sessions today. Russell put in the fourteenth fastest time in FP1 with Lewis Hamilton putting in the twelfth fastest. FP2 saw a similar result for the team with Russell and Hamilton in twelfth and fifteenth, respectively. However, it is always worth noting that teams run different tests and on different fuel levels during practice sessions.