Ted Kravitz left Mercedes engineers awkwardly laughing before issuing an apology for mocking George Russell in front of them live on air following the conclusion of the Chinese Grand Prix
Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz couldn’t help but poke fun at the Mercedes engineering team after George Russell failed to finish ahead of Lando Norris. Russell, 27, had to make do with third place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix behind McLaren duo Norris and Oscar Piastri.
After the race, Kravitz sauntered up to the Mercedes paddock and told the engineers that Russell may be disappointed at not pipping his British rival, whose car experienced a severe brake problem in the final laps. Norris, 25, had to coast around many corners towards the end of the GP in Shanghai after realising his brake pedal was faulty.
Despite Norris’ struggles, Russell couldn’t advance beyond his fellow Brit. The latter managed to hold onto P2 while Piastri secured his first victory of the 2025 campaign.
Norris admitted he would have been in big trouble if there had been one more lap to go. With this in mind, the always cheeky Kravitz grilled the Mercedes team about Russell’s display. It proved to be an uncomfortable, one-sided exchange, which Kravitz admittedly described as “awkward.”
While taking inspiration from the late Eddie Jordan, Kravitz said: “Right, George Russell. I had the idea of Eddie Jordan stuck in my head thinking, ‘George Russell, he can’t even overtake Lando Norris, who hasn’t got any brakes. What’s wrong with George Russell?’.
“But, he couldn’t, unfortunately for George, because that might have been some more points, but he was third today.” Kravitz then turned towards the giggling Mercedes team and said: “Sorry, was that harsh? Was that harsh of me boys?
“Yeah, but come on. He can’t even overtake Lando Norris who hasn’t even got any brakes. I know it would have been one lap longer. Anyway, I was quoting and imagining the late great Eddie Jordan.”
Kravitz then apologised, saying: “I know, I know, there were reasons why. Sorry, that was slightly awkward,” before walking away and continuing his piece to the camera.
He added: “But George, a good getaway, was squeezed by Oscar Piastri down to P3 and undercut Lando Norris who got P2. Got passed back and really got dropped to P3 by the two McLarens.
“And, as I said, even with Lando having no brakes, George remained six or seven seconds behind him. Another lap, he may have got him, but couldn’t take advantage of Lando No Brakes towards the end of the race and stayed in P3.”
However, when moving along to the Aston Martin garage, Kravitz adopted a more serious tone, discussing the emotional tribute paid to the late F1 icon Eddie Jordan, who passed away aged 76 after battling cancer. Kravitz said: “I’ve got to say, the team that used to be Jordan, there was a particularly moving tribute to Eddie Jordan before the driver’s parade. All of the team principals and drivers were out on the start and finish line.
“All of the other teams were standing a sort of guard of honour in front of their garages and they played out the Bono tribute, voiced by Bono, and played out ‘With or without you’. It was impeccably observed and I think the old boy, Eddie, would have liked it. Even though he would have then said, ‘Come on, lets get racing’, which we later did of course.”
Post-race, Norris, who clinched victory at the Australian Grand Prix in the campaign opener, admitted he was shaken by his brake’s failure. He said: “It was scary. It’s like my worst nightmare when the brakes are failing. I was losing two, three, four seconds the last couple of laps, so I was a bit scared. I survived and made it to the end.
“I would have loved to have given it a little try and put Oscar under a little bit of pressure but not today. We’re satisfied, great result. We’ll go again next time.” However, it was Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc who endured the toughest of races, having finished sixth and fifth only to then be disqualified, along with Pierre Gasly, after the race’s conclusion.
