F1 News: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell Lose Practice Time After Both Crashing During Qualifying

Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell missed the start of today’s final practice of the Austrian Grand Prix after both drivers crashed out of qualifying yesterday.

Both Mercedes hit the barrier towards the end of Q3, with Hamilton oversteering and sliding off the track at Turn 7, and Russell doing something very similar at Turn 10. The damage from these incidents was so significant that Mercedes chief Toto Wolff admitted that it was like “somebody dropping a Lego car on the floor”.

The Mercedes team only had six hours to repair both cars thanks to strict curfew regulations, with Hamilton needing a new chassis, and both drivers needing new gearboxes. The floors have also been swapped for new ones, as have the wings. The power units haven’t been touched.

🗣️"Everyone is doing such a good job!" 🙏

Lewis Hamilton looks on as the Mercedes team work on assigning a new chassis to the car. pic.twitter.com/bmPA9zu5M0

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 9, 2022