Russell, whose luck differed significantly from his team-mate and pole winner Lewis Hamilton, acknowledged that he was greatly hindered by the presence of other cars on the track.
He was caught off guard when he attempted to begin his lap, realizing that certain competitors did not adhere to the agreed-upon understanding among drivers to not overtake one another.
“When questioned by Motorsport.com about his challenging session, he expressed that our entire session was off course in terms of timing and objectives, with excessive team risk-taking.”
The car had such impressive speed that we didn’t have to refuel during one lap and continued until the very end, even with heavy traffic. However, I was attempting to honor the agreement among drivers and ended up being passed by a few cars, particularly Pierre, who overtook me at the last turn.
“I had a disadvantage of 0.3 at the beginning, and the opportunity to catch up was lost. Therefore, I won’t hold any drivers responsible as we are all competing individually. However, as a team, we could have performed significantly better.”
When questioned about the validity of the gentleman’s agreement, he expressed doubt, stating that he believed it never truly existed. He further admitted that if he were in their position, he would likely have acted similarly.
“You must advocate for yourself. However, the racecourse is quite spacious, spanning a length of 4.5km, and we are only utilizing a portion of one kilometre with 10 cars. Therefore, we simply need to reflect upon our actions and acknowledge that we made a significant mistake today.”
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Russell expressed no worries regarding the new challenge of needing to qualify on the hard tire in Q1.
“This particular track is likely the most direct among all,” he stated. “The difficulty level of this year’s track is equivalent to last year’s moderate.”
“It is quite evident that the weather is extremely hot outside, which is not causing any issues. However, if we were in Imola, the situation would have been different. I am uncertain about the location of the upcoming event [Monza], but once again, it will present a distinct scenario.”
Russell expressed similar thoughts as other drivers, recognizing that the alternative tire allocation system resulted in reduced track time.
“I believe it is beneficial for the qualification process, but due to the limited practice time in FP1 and FP2,” he expressed. “It negatively impacts the spectators, and we must discover a more suitable resolution as they invest a significant amount of money to attend on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”
Since we are now completing only 60% of the laps as before, customers are receiving less value for their money. Therefore, we must seek an improved solution.
Leave a Reply