Russell, luck isn’t enough: “I’ll smile if I understand why I was so slow in qualifying”

The unexpected comeback George Russell’s home Grand Prix had turned out in the worst possible way for the Mercedes driver, destined to finish the race outside the podium area due to a slow puncture which had inevitably forced him to make an additional pit stop. Nothing and no one would have thought that the Englishman, from seventh position, would be able to make a comeback that would even take him to 2nd place. And yet, all this really happened. All the luck Russell, in fact, was the one who benefited most from the chaos that occurred at the end of the race, starting with a technical problem that slowed down his teammate when the latter had already reached the exhaust of the race leader and future winner: Charles Leclerc. As if that wasn’t enough, a few laps later, Verstappen’s mistake forced the entry of the Safety Car. At that point, both Leclerc and Hamilton pitted, but while the Monegasque maintained the lead of the race, which ended just behind the Safety Car, the same was not true for the seven-time world champion, who lost 2nd place to Russell. A race which according to the Briton from Mercedes, who started 4th on the grid, was a sort of mix, as he explained to Sky Sport F1: “I had a bit of luck and a bit of bad luck, but I would have liked to see the last lap because everyone else had new tyres, while I had used tyres. I couldn’t describe my emotions at the moment because I probably deserved third place behind Charles and Kimi, but in the end I finished second. I will smile if I understand why I was so slow and I didn’t have so much speed on the straight in qualifying. Today I was a little better, but I will smile more if I understand what happened and can compete on equal terms.” Very similar statements, but with the same impact, which he added in an interview also given to the official Formula 1 channel, all with Russell currently in second place also in the Drivers’ standings: “It’s important to keep fighting, but the truth is that there have been many things this weekend that we can’t understand. Speed problems on the straight yesterday and Friday, I think today was better, but the performance wasn’t enough and, to be brutally honest, I won’t fight for the championship if the performances continue like this. I’m not coming back. home satisfied with this weekend. I accept the result, but I would have been happier to leave Canada after the breakdown while I was in the lead, rather than being in second place today. I probably deserved the victory in Canada, but I didn’t deserve the position I’m in today.”

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-07-06 12:08:00