George Russell endured what he described as a “miserable” F1 Dutch Grand Prix, with contact from Charles Leclerc’s overtaking attempt leaving his Mercedes severely damaged and costing him “one second per lap” for the remainder of the race at Zandvoort.
Despite finishing fourth, Russell was frank in his assessment that he “didn’t deserve to finish there” after a race he characterised as disappointing from start to finish.
“Game over” after contact with Leclerc
The pivotal moment came when Leclerc attempted an ambitious overtaking manoeuvre around the outside of turn 12. Russell was adamant that the move was executed off-track, causing significant damage to his car that fundamentally altered his race.
“I mean, we had a lot of damage with the contact with Charles. So, as soon as we had that contact, it was game over,” Russell explained. “We were probably losing a second of that with the damage. So, I think to come home with fourth is substantially better than what was deserved.”
LAP 32/72
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Full commitment from Charles! 😵
Leclerc banging wheels with Russell in the battle for P5! #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/fEjfutxW5j
The British driver was particularly critical of Leclerc’s choice to attempt the overtake at that specific corner, stating: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody attempting to overtake on the outside of that corner. Because, just for natural racing line, you go to the gravel yourself. So, I didn’t push him into the gravel, I was just taking my line.”
Defending the racing line
Russell maintained that he had done nothing wrong in the incident, consistently defending his positioning and racing line. He emphasised that Leclerc’s move, while spectacular, was ultimately executed off the racing surface.
“He was obviously fully off the track. You know, it looks like a cool move. But, you know, it kind of ruined my race thereafter,” Russell said. “He was off track only by a little bit. But, we had all that damage.”
The Mercedes driver drew parallels to qualifying standards, arguing: “This is what we race towards in a qualified lap. If you’re over the track limit by this much, you lose the lap. As I said, I didn’t push him off. I was just taking my line.”
A race to forget from start to finish
Even before the Leclerc incident, Russell admitted his performance was well below par. The 27-year-old was unusually candid about his own shortcomings during the race weekend.
“But even the race up until it, prior to the contact with Charles, it was just, didn’t have the pace. Yeah, poor driving my side as well. It was just battle all around,” Russell confessed.
He elaborated on the overall struggle: “Pretty miserable, to be honest. Just a disappointing race start to finish. Bad start, bad pace. Then, obviously, the contact with Charles. I was losing one second per lap. Thereafter, we were super lucky to finish P4.”
Unable to challenge Hadjar
Following the damage from the contact with Leclerc during the F1 Dutch GP, Russell found himself unable to mount any serious challenge to Isack Hadjar, who was running ahead of him and eventually claimed a maiden podium finish.
“Yeah, he did an amazing race. Overtaking was very difficult. Obviously, after my contact with Charles, we had like one second worth of damage. So, I was more focused on trying to keep the position to Alex. Because, even without the damage, maybe it would have been very difficult to overtake Hadjar,” Russell admitted.
When asked if he could have caught Hadjar under normal circumstances, Russell was diplomatic: “I don’t know. He was doing a great job. I’m not going to stand here and say that was possible. Besides the race, I was struggling. I think I was even slower than him in the first stint. They just did an amazing job.”
Lucky to salvage P4
Russell was acutely aware that his fourth-place finish flattered his actual race performance, particularly given the retirements of other drivers ahead of him.
“I definitely did not deserve P4. After the contact with Charles, I had one second worth of damage. Then, of course, with Lando, Kimi, Charles, we gained three positions,” he explained, referencing the various incidents that promoted him up the order.
“Very lucky to get P4. I’ll at least take a small amount of satisfaction from that,” Russell added, though he estimated his true pace would have seen him finish “P7, maybe P8” under normal circumstances.
Stewards investigation looming
Following the F1 Dutch GP race, Russell indicated that he would be meeting with the stewards to discuss the incident with Leclerc, though he maintained his position that he had done nothing wrong.
“I think we’re going to the stewards now. I’ve got nothing to discuss with him. It was a nice overtake from him if the track was three metres wider. It wasn’t,” Russell stated firmly.
The Mercedes driver’s frustration was palpable as he reflected on what might have been: “It wasn’t crazy aggressive, it was just off the track. The consequence was I was losing one second per lap afterwards.”
“To be honest, after about 10 laps of the race, I was looking forward to seeing the chequered flag. We were struggling,” Russell concluded, summing up an F1 Dutch GP he’ll be keen to put behind him quickly.
