In France, George Russell took the podium for the fourth time this season, overtaking Sergio Perez at the end of the race. After the finish, the Mercedes driver commented on the weekend’s results.
Q: George, this season you’ve had both calm races and eventful races, like in France. How do you evaluate the results of the weekend?
George Russell: The last 15-20 laps were quite interesting. I attacked with all my might to stay within range. Then, as you know, I tried to overtake Sergio in the chicane. I was very upset that I didn’t hold the position thinking this was already my turn as I was inside and my front wheels were in front of his rear. According to the rules, it was my turn already, but Sergio just forced me to the curb. He went wide himself and kept his position.
I think we’ll discuss that episode later. In any case, justice always wins – the restart after shutting down the virtual safety car turned out to be very interesting.
Q: Tell us about the reboot. From the side, it looked like Sergio had just overslept the moment you caught up with him. What was the episode like from your point of view?
George Russell: To be honest, the maneuver turned out to be quite easy! I just stepped on the accelerator when the green lights came on and overtook Sergio on the outside at Turn 14. I got an excellent and well timed maneuver. I think Sergio had to slow down a bit because he was going too fast. In the end it turned out that he slowed down, I accelerated, which allowed me to get closer. I liked the maneuver, but the remaining circles weren’t the easiest.
Q: How do you rate the car’s race pace?
George Russell: If we talk about being behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, who did an excellent job, in race mode we are a few tenths behind. We need to figure out what’s going on with our qualifying pace, but the team feels it’s moving forward. We are satisfied with the direction taken for the development of the machine.
It took us eight or nine races to fully understand how to make a car really fast. I think we’re in for an exciting second half of the season.
Q: During the race, Toto Wolff radioed you and asked you not to give up. We haven’t heard all your conversations, but did you have conversations with the team before Toto got involved?
George Russell: At that time, everyone’s emotions were at their peak. I felt like I had made a mega maneuver in the chicane on Sergio, but I didn’t regain the position. At that point in the race my car was faster and I loved Toto’s words, but at that point I felt completely exhausted.
Sometimes you feel alone behind the wheel. You give the best, you do your best, but you don’t know what the technicians are doing. They don’t feel the car the way the driver feels it. Such radio exchanges, as we have with Toto, bring the team closer.
Source: F1 News
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