Russell: Alonso’s fine is quite severe, but I’m not complaining

George Russell believes the Saudi Grand Prix stewards’ decision was pretty harsh, but it was thanks to him that the Mercedes driver was able to climb to the 3rd line of the protocol, so he’s happy to receive another cup .

George Russell (3rd): “The race was interesting and after the safety car left the track I was on hard tires and Lewis on a set of Medium. So in the beginning he could go a little faster than me, but I knew I would gradually pick up the pace.

However, this is what confused me: I thought Fernando still had to serve a 5 second penalty. That’s why I didn’t want Lewis and I to fight each other because it would make us both lose to Alonso. I wanted to save the tires and stay within attack distance behind him because we would have a chance to put in a fair fight with him towards the end of the race.

On track I finished fourth, but I think the penalty Fernando has been given is quite severe. Aston Martin deserved a podium today, but I’m still happy to get another cup! I’m not complaining! (laughs)

Overall, first of all we have to admit that Red Bull has done a great job. I think their lead over all the other teams is perhaps even greater than Mercedes’ in 2014. To close this gap, everyone will have to work very seriously.

But we know we made miscalculations in the off-season and I think we can catch up faster than usual, so nothing is lost yet. We already want to win races this year and we will do everything we can to achieve this.”

Lewis Hamilton (5th): “The mood is not bad, because our team earned a lot of points, George had a great race and finally moved up to third place.

I made my way to the front, so I’m happy to have finished fifth after starting seventh. Admittedly, in my case the tactics didn’t work, and the car setup left a lot to be desired – if my car was set up the same way as George’s, I could end up in a higher position.

So on the one hand we have something to work on, on the other hand there were also positive moments. When it comes to the settings, there were two alternatives: I chose one, George preferred the other. In the past it often happened that he made the wrong choice, but this time it turned out that his settings worked.

This weekend I could only ride at about his pace, but I wasn’t making any progress. But I will try to make sure we can fight for a better result next time.”