Russell critical of Leclerc with 'never seen that' remark after Dutch GP incident
George Russell also spoke about the contact with Charles Leclerc in the Dutch GP, which led the stewards to investigate but ultimately resulted in no further action.
The contact between George Russell and Charles Leclerc in the Dutch GP sparked debate, with some considering the Monegasque’s move borderline but fair, while others, including Toto Wolff, believe that car number 16’s maneuver should actually have been penalized.
Contact with Leclerc 'ruined my race', says Russell
Asked by GPBlog, among other media, to comment on the incident at the end of the race, the Mercedes driver, who still managed to finish a positive fourth, said: “I don't think I've ever seen someone attempt to overtake on the outside of that corner, because just following the natural racing line, you end up in the gravel yourself.''
''I didn't push him into the gravel; I was just taking my line. He was obviously slightly off the track. It looks like a cool move, but it kind of ruined my race thereafter. He was off track only by a little bit. Then we had all that damage. I haven't really reviewed it massively, but I'm a bit surprised.”
He then added: “I need to see. It was obviously something small. It wasn't hard; it was just off the track. And it's only by maybe this much, but this is the rule—this is what we race against on a qualifying lap.''
''If you're over the track limits by this much, you lose the lap. As I said, I didn't push him off; I was just taking my line.”
Finally, commenting on his final result despite the damage, Russell concluded: “We had a lot of damage from the contact with Charles, so as soon as we had that contact, it was game over.''
''We were probably losing a second because of the damage, so I think finishing fourth was substantially better than what we deserved.''
''Even up until the contact with Charles, I just didn’t have the pace—poor driving on my side as well—it was just a battle all around, so P4 was substantially better than we should have had.”
Popular on GPBlog
Stewards issue verdict over Leclerc-Russell incident in Dutch GP
Weather report: Will showers shake up the order in Zandvoort?
F1 Standings | McLaren extend lead, Ferrari suffers double DNF in Zandvoort
