Russell explains crash: ‘Little bit surprising when it happened’

George Russell was in fourth place behind Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, when he misjudged Turn 9 and crashed his Mercedes into the wall. The Briton could continue as he guided back his car to the pit lane under Safety Car conditions, but he eventually was told to retire his car.

Russell fully acknowledged it was his mistake to crash in his interview with Viaplay. "For sure the crash in the beginning was my fault. I ran a little bit wide. I had it all under control but I just hit this orange curb and next thing I was in the sky and hit the wall. It was a little bit surprising when it happened. Disappointed to throw away 12 comfortable points," the Mercedes driver said following the race.

On the other hand, this was not the reason Russell had to retire from the race later on, and that’s what the British driver said. "I'm not sure to be honest. I think we weren't expecting to have a race in so much traffic. That's probably why the expectations were a little bit wrong. Because we were in a position that we should not have been. So, of course, that was a shame. Yeah, we lost them in the beginning. Nevertheless, some good things to take away. The pace of the car looks strong. Perhaps we shouldn't have been that competitive," he concluded.