George Russell double blow after guilty verdict from F1 stewards | F1 | Sport
George Russell has been handed a suspended fine after he was found guilty of an ‘unsafe act’ following his frustrating mechanical DNF in the Canadian Grand Prix. The Brit was leading the race and engaged in a long and thrilling duel with team-mate Kimi Antonelli when a battery failure struck, leaving him with, as team principal Toto Wolff put it, “no electricity in the car anymore”.
It brought the exciting battle for the lead to an abrupt end when Russell suddenly cut a chicane, bounced over the grass in his Mercedes and came to a grinding halt on the left side of the track. His frustration was immediately obvious as he removed the car’s headrest and threw it over the front wing and onto the circuit before hitting his car with both palms and then climbing out.
Russell then disappeared through a porthole in the fencing where he proceeded to remove his gloves and throw them to the ground in disgust. He then sat down briefly to put his face in his hands, shaking his head as he came to terms with what had happened, before beginning the walk back to the paddock to perform his media duties.
While all of that was a show of understandable disappointment, given his team-mate and title rival Antonelli was left free to win the Grand Prix unchallenged, it was the throwing of the head restraint which caught the attention of the stewards and led to them calling Russell into their offices to explain his behaviour.
For throwing the head restraint onto the track, where it presented a potential danger to other cars which were still circulating, albeit under yellow flags, Russell was given a suspended £4,300 fine with his apology for his actions taken into account as a mitigating factor, as well as the circumstances of the incident.
The official FIA decision document confirmed: “The driver explained that he was extremely frustrated having failed to finish the race and expressed his embarrassment as what subsequently followed. He apologised to the stewards for his action and acknowledged that it did not set a good example and offered to apologise publically. The stewards acknowledged this and accepted his apology.”
After making his way to the media pen, Russell explained how he had experienced things and said he was still pleased with his weekend’s work despite the sour ending. He told reporters: “Just everything turned off all of a sudden, I just went into the corner and, yeah, the engine stopped. No electronics, no proper braking. I’m just lost for words to be honest right now. It’s… yeah, I can’t say any more.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m proud of my weekend. Pole in the Sprint, won the Sprint, pole for the Grand Prix and I was leading when I stopped, after a good battle with Kimi. From my side, I don’t feel like there was anything more I could have done this weekend, so I’ll leave satisfied. Of course, I’m pretty damn frustrated with what’s happened, but what more can I do?”
