George Russell, representing Great Britain, achieved third place in the Mercedes AMG F1 W15 during the Formula 1 World Championship held on June 9, 2024. The event took place at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada, on Race Day.
Russell expressed his disappointment for making crucial mistakes that harmed both himself and the Mercedes Formula 1 team, preventing them from having a better chance to win the Canadian Grand Prix. Despite initially taking advantage of the improved speed of the Mercedes to secure pole position and lead in the early laps, Russell fell behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen as the track dried.
Although Russell managed to regain second place from Norris with a slick tire maneuver towards the end of the race, a wide moment in Turn 8 allowed the McLaren driver to reclaim his position. Opting to pit under a late Safety Car, Russell fell even further behind the other McLaren, and a collision with Oscar Piastri in the chicane provided an opportunity for Lewis Hamilton to overtake.
Although Russell managed to overtake both Piastri and his teammate on the back straight, he couldn’t help but reflect on what could have been without these mistakes. «If you had told us before this weekend that we would finish in third place, maybe we wouldn’t have believed it,» commented Russell, who secured Mercedes’ first podium of the season. «But, as Max Verstappen said, it was a challenging race for everyone out there. A small miscalculation and you go off track. And for me, it was just too many mistakes at crucial moments that prevented us from competing with those two at the end of the race.»
Russell reveló que apoyó la decisión de cambiar de neumáticos duros a medios durante el último período de Safety Car, ya que creía que los neumáticos nuevos le proporcionarían una ventaja. Sin embargo, en retrospectiva, reconoció que renunciar a la posición en pista y tener que adelantar a Piastri comprometió sus posibilidades de alcanzar una posición más alta que el tercer lugar.
«Sí, estaba presionando para hacer la parada en boxes porque creía que los nuevos neumáticos medios serían altamente competitivos al final», explicó Russell. «Necesito revisar esto porque, honestamente, creo que teníamos un ritmo excelente. Los demás estaban con neumáticos medios, y si yo estuviera con neumáticos duros, creo que estaríamos en una posición muy fuerte para luchar. Pero hay muchos cambios que harías si supieras cómo se desarrollarían las cosas en retrospectiva. Sin embargo, estoy satisfecho con el progreso que hemos hecho. Estoy realmente orgulloso del equipo por seguir con estas mejoras, y definitivamente está valiendo la pena.»
