Russell saved, like Leclerc
The final starting grid for what will be tomorrow’s Azerbaijan GP was made official about four hours after the provisional one was published. Part of the wait was due to the decision that the commissioners had to take on the case of George Russell who – like Charles Leclerc in FP3 – had been theinvestigated for failing to slow down under yellow flagsIf found guilty, the English Mercedes driver would have been penalised with a drop back on the grid of at least three positions and would have lost the fifth position he had gained on the track.
The stewards, however, exactly as in the case of Leclerc and using the decision made against the Ferrari driver as a yardstick, sanctioned the #63 with a simple reprimand. By reading the official document published by the FIA, one discovers how in reality the episode involving Russell found – at the judging panel – “even more mitigating factors” compared to the one involving the winner of the last Italian GP.
The Commissioners’ statement
“It was a very similar case to that of Charles Leclerc – it is explicitly written in the press release – with some important differences. Sainz ran long into the run-off area at Turn 2. Russell was the next car on the track, was already fully braking and, unlike Leclerc, was already approaching the corner when the yellow flag was displayed on the far right of the straight. The Stewards consider that Russell could not reasonably have seen that flag and, even if he had seen it, he would not have been able to adjust his braking. Once around the corner, Russell accelerated normally. Unlike Leclerc, however, the green light panel between Turns 2 and 3 was significantly further out from the track and more difficult to see when accelerating. Russell did not even benefit from DRS in that area, as it was automatically deactivated, slowing his lap. In Leclerc’s decision, the Stewards highlighted many mitigating factors. In this case, the Stewards consider that there are additional mitigating factors.”.
Russell’s comment
“I’m quite satisfied with my qualifying laps. – Russell declared at the end of Q3, awaiting the stewards’ verdict – They all seemed good to me, but unfortunately we didn’t have the pace to fight for pole position. In FP3 we had good times, but we knew we had a bit of an advantage, having run right at the end of the session. We thought we were fighting just outside the top three. So it’s a bit frustrating to be half a tenth off P3, but P5 is not a bad place to start. Ferrari is usually very quick on street circuits and it showed that today. I don’t think we’ll be able to compete with them for the win tomorrow.but I hope we will be fighting for the podium“.
#Failure #slow #yellow #flag #Russell #saves
