George Russell “cooked” by the heat: Mercedes denies him the cooling vest

George Russell’s enthusiasm following his victory in Baku has waned after the official practice sessions for the Bahrain Grand Prix: on the Malaysian track, the British driver could not manage better than seventh on the starting grid, while his teammate and World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start from the second row.

After qualifying, Russell complained about the intense heat on the track: “I was already sweating just sitting on the beach in shorts and flip-flops, let alone in a racing suit and helmet—it’s like sitting in an oven.”

The British driver pointed the finger at Mercedes’ decision, as the team was unable to provide him with a cooling vest because it exceeded the spending cap: “I would have liked to wear it, but the team told me: ‘Look, we can develop it and we can invest the money in this project, but there’s a cost since we’re trying to develop the car within the spending cap.’”

“We should all wear the vest on these occasions, because when it works, it works great. The FIA should step in and allow us to develop it outside the budget cap,” continued Russell, who also received a sarcastic reply from Max Verstappen: “Maybe I should take it to the sauna a couple of times!”