George Russell filmed at urinal in ‘disgusting’ TikTok video
Two Australian social media influencers were slammed online for a video they posted of the F1 driver
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
A pair of Australian social media influencers have been branded “disgusting” after they filmed George Russell at a urinal at the Australian Grand Prix and uploaded the video to TikTok and Instagram.
The “Shepmates” – twin brothers Archie and Miles Shepherd, known for their lip-synching commentary moments – recorded the Mercedes F1 driver in the toilet, while one of them stood next to the Brit.
The TikTok was captioned: “POV: When you meet George Russell at the urinals.” The video has since been deleted by the duo, who have also apologised on social media and reached out to Russell personally.
In the footage, one of the brothers says: “I just took a p*** next to George Russell. I know what you’re thinking, how big is it? That stays between me and George. There’s confidentiality in the men’s urinal.
“What I can say is he looks really relaxed, confident stream. We were there for a while so he’s obviously really hydrated and prepared for the race. He really opened the floodgates.”
Australian sports presenter Shane McInnes, who works for Nine Radio, slammed the pair’s video and called for any potential access to future F1 races to be denied.
He said on Twitter/X: “The behaviour of Shepmates recording Mercedes driver George Russell at a urinal at the Aus GP, posting it on Instagram and Tik Tok and then boasting about it is disgusting and reprehensible
“Will they apologise? Even if they do, credentials for future races should be denied.”
After the video was deleted, the Shepmates released a statement on their Instagram story, admitting they had taken their content a step too far.
“Our aim is to celebrate sporting heroes and commentators whilst bringing some light hearted fun to sports fans,” they said. “On this occasion our content has unintentionally offended our audience and sporting fan from around the globe and is unacceptable.
“We acknowledge our absolute lapse of judgement and apologise wholeheartedly. We have reached out to George personally to apologise.”
Mercedes or Russell are yet to publicly comment on the video.
Russell retired on the penultimate lap of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix – won by Carlos Sainz – following a violent crash which flipped his Mercedes car on its side.
Fernando Alonso was given a 20-second time penalty for the incident, having adjudged to have been at fault by brake testing Russell.
Russell’s team-mate, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, also retired after an engine issue on a day to forget for Mercedes.