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F1 director issues 'back of grid' dig to Mercedes' George Russell after Sprint concerns
George Russell's claims that the first Sprint of the 2022 season at Imola was 'processional'.Max Verstappen emerged victorious ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Mercedes continued to be way off the pace and finished outside of the top 10 - with Lewis Hamilton already writing off his team's title chances this season.While the Sprint was heralded for it's entertainment, with Red Bull's Verstappen overtaking his Ferrari counterpart on the final laps to seal victory and maximum points, those views were not shared by Russell. The British driver stated after the event that it was a 'processional', suggesting the Sprint was not long enough to lead to true competitiveness - despite the overtaking from the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren during the 21 laps at Imola.Those comments were presented to F1 director Ross Brawn, who appeared to issue a dig at Mercedes' struggles so far this season by stating the opinions of the drivers towards the front of the grid would carry the most weight.“Whenever my driver’s had a bad car he’s complained about the race.