George Russell takes blame for costly Lap 1 “misjudgement” at Italian GP.
"I got some damage, I think, at the next corner with Max. Who knows what could’ve been."
1 Sep 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

George Russell has taken full responsibility for his costly “misjudgement” on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix. Russell sustained damage on the opening lap of the race at Monza when recovering from his off-track moment at Turn 1.

The Mercedes driver took to the run-off area and rejoined in close proximity to Max Verstappen. Reflecting on the opening lap at Monza, Russell said: “It was mainly the first lap that cost me. It was a misjudgement on my behalf. Oscar came across sharply. He braked earlier than I expected.”

“When I reacted and hit the brakes, the whole car was locking up. I had to avoid him, to not crash. I got some damage, I think, at the next corner with Max. Who knows what could’ve been. But I don’t think we could’ve kept up with the McLarens. Charles was fast too.”

“Misjudgement”;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/105451...ent-italian-gp


George Russell 'really quite disappointed' with P7 in the 2024 Italian Grand Prix
1 Sept 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Russell doesn't believe Mercedes would have had the pace to challenge Ferrari and McLaren after finishing P7 in the Italian Grand Prix.

‘Disappointed';

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/ge...08380958568090


George Russell blames Mercedes controversy on 'not eating enough pizza'
George Russell is navigating a tough run of form with Mercedes.
Sep 2, 2024
Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express

Speaking to supporters in the Italian Grand Prix fan zone, Russell and Hamilton were asked if they had eaten any of Italy’s most famous culinary export. Hamilton responded: “We’re a bit too heavy right now, we can’t have pizza. We’re a bit fat at the moment. Last race, he was heavy and I was even heavier.”

Russell then joked: “Yeah in Spa I didn’t have my pizza so I was underweight and disqualified last week. [Then in] Zandvoort I had a lot of pizza and we were heavy and slow, so I need maybe half a pizza!” This produced a laugh from Hamilton, who added: “It’s true! We were overweight!”

‘Pizza’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ilton-Mercedes


Russell thought he would “go airborne” during Perez battle
SEPT 2, 2024
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog

The Mercedes driver damaged his wing on the first lap and after a long early stop for a replacement he had to make his way back up. He was fighting Perez for seventh place when the Mexican made it hard to get by. “I thought I was about to go airborne when he was squeezing me at 340,” he said when asked by this writer about the fight.

“Hard racing, and at least glad to make up one position. It was right at the very, very limit.” Asked if he would speak to the Red Bull driver he said: “There’s nothing to say. We didn’t crash at the end of the day. And I got past him. Half a centimetre more, and it could have been a different story.”

“The sport is a bit strange at the moment, with how Red Bull have lost so much pace. Ferrari seemed to be struggling in Zandvoort and all the races prior, but then they were so quick on Sunday in Zandvoort and this whole weekend. So I don’t really know.”

“Go airborne”;

https://adamcooperf1.com/2024/09/02/...-perez-battle/


Toto Wolff gives verdict on fierce Russell v Perez battle ‘at the very limit’
1 Sep 2024
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

While the sort of incident that can happen, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Sergio Perez moved “late” on George Russell at Monza. Russell in his Mercedes found himself in combat with the Red Bull of Perez for P7 at Monza, a move which Russell ultimately completed, though not without some drama going into the opening chicane.

Wolff felt that Perez had moved “late” against Russell in the braking zone at the first chicane. “I’m trying to be objective, and with the George incident on Turn 1, it’s probably racing that can happen,” he said. “But with Checo, that was a move under braking. Was there enough gap, when the gap was tiny? But still, the move came late.”

‘At the very limit’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...-russell-monza


Wolff: Mercedes W15 has lost “quite a chunk” of performance
SEPT 3, 2024
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog

“It was better than Zandvoort,” said Wolff when asked by this writer about the Monza race. “But we are quite a chunk of from pre-summer performances. I think we scored a podium in five races or six races and three victories, two on merit.”

“And we don’t seem to be playing there at the moment, in the front. And when you’re on the back foot pace-wise, then obviously you’re in a bit of a no-man’s land in terms of strategy. So it’s good that we have a little bit of time to analyse that.”

Wolff admitted that tyre management in races, something that worked so well for Russell at Spa, is the key weakness at the moment. “I think we’re able to extract a single lap, which is in principle, good news,” he said. “But then the balance isn’t, in a way, good enough to keep the tyres happy for the race.”

“Chunk of from pre-summer performances”;

https://adamcooperf1.com/2024/09/03/...f-performance/


George Russell's seat at Mercedes is not safe amid the team's pursuit of Max Verstappen, says Nico Rosberg
2 Sept 2024
SkySports

George Russell's Mercedes contract expires at the end of the 2025 F1 season; the Silver Arrows have just signed teenage star Andrea Kimi Antonelli to partner Russell next year; Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has repeatedly expressed his desire to bring Max Verstappen to the team

However, 2016 world champion Rosberg said: "George is not safe at all because Toto still wants Max. He will try again for 2026 because 'give up' does not appear in Toto's vocabulary. If Max does become available - and I do think it's a possibility - then it is a shootout between George and Kimi next year.”

"It's a lot of pressure on George as he has everything to lose. He should be the one ahead at the team internally, because Kimi is 18 and he's completely new and in a full-pressure situation, so it's not an easy situation for George."

"George is not safe at all”;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...s-nico-rosberg


‘Right on the edge’: Why George Russell made subtle ‘dig’ at Kimi Antonelli during Monza press conference
4 Sept 2024
Rory Mitchell
F1 Oversteer

After Kimi Antonelli crashed 10 minutes into his FP1 debut at Monza, the 18-year-old experienced first-hand how things can change in the highly pressurised world of F1. Antonelli was taking over from George Russell in the session and caused significant damage to the W15, which impacted Mercedes’ run plan for the rest of the day. Russell missed nearly 30 minutes of FP2 while the team continued with repairs, while the team was cut short on the amount of spares they had for the new specification parts.

During the drivers’ press conference over the weekend, Russell made a ‘bit of dig’ at Antonelli over the crash according to journalist Alex Kalinauckas when speaking on the Flat Chat podcast. George Russell blames Andrea Kimi Antonelli for lack of spare parts. F1 teams are quite limited in the amount of parts they are able to produce in a season due to the cost cap, while crash damage is also included in that calculation.

Drivers have lost their seats before due to crashing too often, including Mick Schumacher and most recently Logan Sargeant at Williams. Russell made a subtle hint that Mercedes might have to get used to these setbacks in the early stages of Kimi Antonelli’s career. “Mercedes is in for a real challenging year next year where Antonelli is absolutely rapid, but he crashes a lot. I could totally see it,” said Kalinauckas.

‘Bit of dig’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/why...ss-conference/