Josh Lawless
Fans fear that a Mercedes mechanic could be facing the sack after what he was filmed doing during the Singapore Grand Prix.
Sunday's race went perfectly for Mercedes, with George Russell claiming victory from pole position at the Marina Bay Circuit.
Russell, who is poised to be out of contract at the end of the campaign, secured his second win of the 2025 season after his triumph in Canada, doing so on the same track where he crashed out on the last lap.
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The 27-year-old is fourth in the drivers' rankings, with Mercedes second in the constructors' standings with nine podiums.
But there was a viral incident involving a Mercedes employee on Sunday's race and it garnered plenty of reaction.
On social media, a clip circulated where a member of the Mercedes crew was in the pit during the race but spotted watching football on their iPhone while cars flew past
The zoomed in clip taken from the stands showed an individual wearing Mercedes attire with their mobile device in hand, appearing to watch the East Anglian derby between Ipswich Town and Norwich City.
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The game kicked off at 12pm, with Ipswich winning 3-1 at Portman Road.
Yet with the virality of the footage, some fans are worried that the employee in question could be severely punished for watching the football.
One user on X said: "I don't think they will be very happy with this at Mercedes... probably the last time he did that."
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A second joked: "This is me watching F1 and UFC At work."
A third wrote: "Hope he doesn’t get fired because of this.."
A fourth person added: "Why did yall post this. He might get into trouble…"
A final user commented: "I hope this doesn't cost him his job."
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The actions had no bearing on Mercedes' performance, Russell taking the victory and his teammate Kimi Antonelli taking fifth spot.
It was Mercedes' last great success for a long time but Russell felt at ease during the race and is now hopeful
I'm a very different driver today to the one I was a couple of years ago, and I feel more complete, more confident," Russell said, as per the BBC.
"I know exactly what I need to do in given circumstances.
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"Of course, I was nervous before the race, as you'd expect, but I didn't feel any additional nerves or any additional pressure. It just felt like another race, and I knew I had a chance to win, and I felt comfortable with that.
"So I've said it for a while - I feel ready to fight for a championship. I feel ready to take it to my next step."
SPORTbible has reached out to Mercedes for comment.