F1 News
Russell reflects on stewards meeting: 'I expected to crash with Verstappen'
Ahead of the Qatar GP, Max Verstappen was given a one-place grid penalty. The Dutchman himself did not like how George Russell handled the case. Following the Grand Prix, the Briton also reflected on what happened on Saturday.
"To be honest I was expecting a crash, but ultimately we made it easy for him because both Lewis and I made a terrible start. It was a pretty simple overtake for him which was a bit frustrating for us," the Briton told GPblog among others.
According to Russell, he has no issues with the Red Bull driver. "No, there's no concerns. We know Max is a fighter and is aggressive. I expect no difference. I really wanted to go out there and fight with him today like we could have done in the sprint. But yesterday in the sprint, he was probably two or three tenths behind us. Today, we were two or three tenths behind him. It just goes to show what a night can do in this sport. It's always on a knife's edge. It's a shame we didn't have the pace when it mattered."
Plenty of penalties were also handed out during the Grand Prix itself. On those, Russell reflected. "No, there was zero indication that they [the stewards] wanted to be much harsher. I don't even know what all the penalties were for. I need to review that now. I don't even know what my penalty is for, I know it’s something to do with the safety car, but I don't know when or how or why. I'll have a look and see."
On Mercedes' performance
After an eventful race and a mistake by his crew during his first pit stop, Russell finished eventually in P4 in Qatar.
"P4 was probably a flattering result considering how the race went. Funny how this sport changes overnight. Everything was great on Friday. Saturday was a great day. Then we had no pace today. At best, we were two or three tenths behind Max and Lando. Start was bad. Had a slow pit stop. Penalty. I don't even know what for, to be honest. It's strange."
He later added: "It's strange how when things are working and the car's quick, everything seems just to work so well. When the car's off the pace a bit, everything just seems to go wrong and today was a great example of that."
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