F1 | Russell: “Happy with the podium, but we missed an opportunity”

First pole of the year, first podium of the season and first trophy during this championship. At Mercedes we can finally end a weekend with a smile, because in Canada the Brackley car did well, showing a competitiveness that has been missing for a long time.

After the first position achieved in qualifying, in the first part of the race George Russell was able to maintain the lead of the race, but without ever managing to really break away. In fact, after a couple of laps, Max Verstappen quickly fell behind him, becoming increasingly threatening. However, the lack of pace meant that Lando Norris, third at the time, also managed to close the gap to the top with an unsustainable pace for the Briton from Mercedes, who lost the lead to his compatriot from McLaren.

The entry of the Safety Car for the Logan Sargeant accident had given Russell the opportunity to recover a position, because the indication of the exit of the safety car had arrived just moments before Norris overtook the last FIA light sign before the pit lane, thus not being able to return immediately. On the contrary, Mercedes immediately took advantage of the opportunity and by being able to stop immediately meant that Russell could gain the position over Norris.

Even more delicate was the moment of the transition to slicks, where Norris had initially been able to complete an overcut while remaining longer on the intermediates. However, having warmer dry tires, Russell initially managed to recover second place, only to be overtaken again when the averages of the British driver from McLaren began to enter the operating window.

The Safety Car due to the accident between Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon had given Mercedes the opportunity to stop again, getting rid of the hard previously fitted, given the lower risk of graining, to switch to the medium, which was certainly more effective. Russell began his comeback but, in an attempt to pass Oscar Piastri, he came into contact, losing position to Hamilton after ending up on the escape route: “I think it was a race contact, a hard but fair duel. When there is only one dry line it is always difficult,” said Russell after the race.

That contact forced him to start his climb again, which is why he feels he missed a great opportunity to achieve a better result, especially bearing in mind that he finished just a few tenths behind Norris after overtaking Hamilton on the penultimate lap.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“It felt like we missed an opportunity to be honest. We were leading at the start of the race with the intermediates, we were very fast, then Lando passed us with an excellent pace. Then we made the switch to slicks, I also made a couple of mistakes while trying to push to the limit. But in the end we got our first podium of the year, we had a great car this weekend and we were there fighting in the mix for the win. And this is why I compete in F1,” added the Mercedes driver.

Russell’s disappointment also arose because he believed that with the new average he had the chance to try to worry Verstappen, although in reality the Dutchman in front was trying to keep the situation under control by managing the pace: “I think we had the pace to recover on Max. At this moment Verstappen was fast, but when we put the average at the end we were also very fast.”

“Then there was the episode with Piastri, where I lost a position to Hamilton, so it cost us at least a second position. Then maybe we could have gotten closer to Max at the end of the race, but let’s look at the positive side of this weekend, that is, podium and first pole of the year.”