United States GP: Lewis Hamilton's brutal George Russell analysis goes viral

Lewis Hamilton did not mince words when Charles Leclerc enquired about his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, in the cool down room after the United States Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver gave a brutal one line answer, which clearly incriminated his teammate George Russell.

Sainz started on pole position, but dropped to the back of the grid after being hit by Russell at Turn 1 in the opening lap. Initially, it looked minor with just a rear puncture, but a coolant leak forced the Ferrari driver to his retire car and bring a premature end to his race.

The Spaniard's rotten luck allowed Hamilton to become Max Verstappen's main challenger for the top step of the podium at the Circuit of the Americas. The Mercedes driver was just five laps away from clinching his first win of the season, before being overtaken by the 2022 world champion.

Leclerc, meanwhile, benefitted from a cheap pit stop under the safety car to make his way from 12th on the grid (owing to a engine penalty) to P3 at the end of the race. The Monegasque driver also did his fair share of overtaking apart from advantage gained during the safety car period.

In the immediate aftermath of the race, Leclerc and Hamilton can be seen watching the screen showing highlights in the cool down room. The Ferrari driver questioned the Briton about Sainz' retirement and after a brief pause, seven-time world champion threw his teammate under the bus.

Hamilton's brutal assessment and lack of desire to protect his teammate has gone viral. Leclerc was also left speechless with the Mercedes driver's response, and it has left fans in stitches with many unable to handle the British racer's honesty.

Meanwhile, Russell received a five-second time penalty for his role in the incident, while also suffering front wing damage. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was unhappy with the punishment meted out to his driver, especially since he also suffered with an underperforming car following his collision with Sainz.

"I think that the incident at turn one is a racing incident that maybe swung," Wolff said, as quoted on GP Fans. "We've just seen the front wing, it's massively damaged."

"Not only the front wing endplate but also below and that's the aero critical part, so he had a car that was not capable of doing more."