Russell: “We had a fast car but we were unlucky”
British driver of Mercedes, George Russell, spoke about what happened at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Russell made a good start to the race and took the lead on the first lap. However, as the rain increased, he had to pit and fell behind the grid.
Russell, who damaged his car after the contact he experienced, could not complete the race as a result and closed the day without points.
Russell used the following statements about what happened:
“We also had to leave the race because at the end of the lap when we entered the chicana side by side, I had contact with Lando. That cost a few points. I think overall it's a pity because we had a very fast car today. Unfortunately, both the weather conditions and the decisions were not in our favor.”
“So we need to look at what we can do better because we missed a great opportunity today. We expected the rain to stay on for a minute or two, but it went on for ten minutes. The transition tires were ready, but we predicted there would be one or two more rains, so I thought I could go on for a few laps, but it didn't happen.
Russell said it was disappointing not to score despite his early lead lead:
“Of course we prefer a fast car and a bad day to the opposite, but today it is clear that a great opportunity has been missed. Especially at the beginning of the race, when we took the lead, I thought that we would achieve a great result, about a quarter of a lap, with the information I had, I thought it was a wrong decision to pit the others. That thought was short-lived, but it was fun.”
Russell said the following about the Monza race:
“We are confident that this track will suit us better than most. Monza is a completely different circuit, so we'll see what we can do with some new ideas."