Russell watched Verstappen crash 100 times: 'Understand what happened'

F1 News

12 August 2021 at 16:09
Last update 12 August 2021 at 17:43
  • GPblog.com

The storm has died down, partly due to the summer break, but still interviews with drivers ask for their opinion about the crash of Max Verstappen and the punishment Lewis Hamilton received for it.

Speaking to Auto, Motor und Sport George Russell again spoke out about the incident. He again stated that he thought it was a racing incident and has watched the crash many times now. Very often.

"I watched the incident 100 times, just like everyone else. For me it was a racing accident. There was nothing malicious about it. Lewis is one of the cleanest and most honest drivers out there. I always watch my videos, check the data and look for highlights. Just to understand what was going on."

Drivers miss obvious things during race

Because according to Russell, a driver is so focused on himself during the race that there is barely time to keep an eye on everything around you. This usually only comes afterwards.

"When you're running your own race, you don't know what's going to happen. When I was driving around Copse, I didn't even see Max in the tyre wall. I didn't know Sebastian had turned the corner before. I passed him, saw the yellow flag, some dust in the air. Then when I checked the data, I noticed that it was Vettel turning three positions ahead of me. That's interesting. You're so focused on your work that sometimes you miss obvious things."

For Russell, the question is still whether he will once again drive a Williams next year, the team that finished in the points twice more in Hungary, or whether he will succeed Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes in 2021. That question is likely to be answered this month.