Jude Bellingham has to hide grin as Mercedes driver crashes after tipping their teammate to win
Jude Bellingham was involved in a priceless moment at the Spanish Grand Prix thanks to a crafty camera operator.
The Real Madrid megastar was attending the Barcelona race alongside his England teammates, who were the stars of the show off the track.
The race looked like it was turning into a snooze fest as Max Verstappen failed to come up with a strategy to beat McLaren’s drivers in first and second.
However, that all changed dramatically with just 11 laps to go as Mercedes’ driver Kimi Antonelli experienced a shocking car failure.
The Italian teen appeared to completely lose power and breaks at turn ten, going straight on with the gravel trap thankfully doing its job to slow him down safely.
Yet with his car beached, a safety car was instantly called out to make things interesting.
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Despite the blow to Mercedes, the wildcard certainly delighted the neutrals, and it appeared that Bellingham was one of them.
Cameras switched to the midfielder in the Mercedes garage, and he had a massive grin on his face, delighted at the entertainment.
Yet seemingly with the broadcast on delay, he quickly realised he was being filmed and wiped the smile off his face, realising where he was sitting.
Bellingham, as a guest in the Mercedes garage, was indeed championing a Silver Arrows driver for victory in Spain.
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Speaking to DAZN pre-race, he said: "I’m backing George Russell — I know him and he’s been to the Bernabéu.
"But honestly, I’d be happy to see any of the English lads win — George, Lewis, or Lando.”
Unfortunately for Bellingham, none of his compatriots claimed victory in Barcelona, with Lando Norris finishing second.
Norris lost ground in the championship race after McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri produced a flawless performance to win the Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc completed the podium after he fought his way past Verstappen following a late safety car restart.
However, Verstappen accused Leclerc of driving into him as the two made slight contact on the straight and then fell off the road as he attempted to defend from George Russell.
Verstappen was advised to give the position to Russell to avoid a penalty, and while he seemed set to let Russell through, he appeared to drive into the Mercedes.
"What the f***"?" Russell said on the radio, with Verstappen later making way. Russell crossed the line in fourth, with Verstappen fifth.
However, Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty by the stewards, demoting him to 10th.
Lewis Hamilton finished a poor seventh after he was passed by Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg in the closing stages.
Piastri's win, which came despite a late safety car, marked his fifth of the nine rounds so far to extend his title advantage over Norris from three points to 10.