George Russell, representing Great Britain, secured 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 enhanced 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 up.
Although Russell managed to regain second place from Norris with a slick tire maneuver towards the end of the race, a wide moment at 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 at the chicane provided an opportunity for Lewis Hamilton to overtake.
While Russell was able to overtake both Piastri and his teammate on the back straight, he couldn’t help but reflect on what could have been without these errors. “If you had told us before this weekend that we would finish in third place, we might not 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’re off the 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 revealed that he supported the decision to switch from hard to medium tires during the last Safety Car period, as he believed the new tires would provide an advantage. However, in hindsight, he acknowledged that giving up track position and having to overtake Piastri compromised his chances of achieving a higher position than third place.
“Yes, I was pushing for the pit stop because I thought the new medium tires would be highly competitive towards the end,” explained Russell. “I need to review that because, honestly, I believe we had excellent pace. The others were on medium tires, and if I had been on hard tires, I think we would have been in a very strong position to fight. But there are many changes you would make if you knew how things would unfold in retrospect. However, I am pleased with the progress we have made. I am really proud of the team for continuing with these improvements, and it is definitely paying off.”
