Ted Kravitz believes George Russell risked the wrath of the Mercedes bosses with his “tetchy” communications during the Japenese GP. Russell, 28, was bumped off top spot by team-mate Kimi Antonelli in Suzuka.

However, Russell became more and more agitated during the race, which was reflected in his radio communications. Russell and Antonelli both started poorly, with the former dropping to fourth and the Italian tumbling down to sixth. The Brit climbed all the way up to P2 and would have had a strong tyre advantage on then leader Piastri, but his momentum was sapped by the entrance of the safety car, which was introduced after Oliver Bearman’s terrifying crash.

Antonelli was able to take a pit-stop while it was making it’s way round, which proved to be the difference for the Italian, and for Russell, who was stuck battling with Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc. When Russell heard about the safety car, he was heard saying: ” Unbelievable. Wow, f—, our luck in these last two races” which may have been a dig at his team, after he had to stop while on course to get pole at the Chinese GP in Q3, which helped Antonelli.

After Russell’s comment, team principal Toto Wolff appeared on the radio and said to him, “George, see what you can do from here, yeah. Super unlucky” which resulted in the Brit asking if Antonelli was going to restart the race in the pre-planned manner once the safety car was off the tracks.

Kravitz believes Wolff’s intervention was a sign Russell’s comments were not appreciated by the Mercedes top brass. Speaking to Sky SportsKravitz said: “Listen, I feel for George, I really do, but I think some of these tetchy comments or complaints are not going down well in the Mercedes garage. That’s why we heard the response from Toto Wolff. That’s the feeling there.”

After the race, Antonelli did have the humbleness to admit fortune favoured him during the race. The teenager said: “I had a terrible start, just need to check what happened.

“I was lucky with the safety car to be in the lead, but then the pace was just incredible. It was really nice. Second stint, I felt really good with the car. Very pleased with that.

“We were very lucky with the safety car, but on the medium, we were really strong once I got some free air. On the hand, the pace was just incredible.

“I don’t know what would have happened, what the outcome would have been, without the safety car, but it definitely made my life a lot easier.”