George Russell received a drive-through penalty at the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, after a “screw it” move on Alex Albon which left the stewards uninpressed.
The Mercedes driver suffered a electrical power unit glitch in qualifying, which saw him start the race down in an unenviable 14th place.
Team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli started one place behind Russell after contact with the wall at the Nouvelle chicane ended his qualifying early.
The team’s place was, therefore, to implement a strategy similar to what was utilised by both Racing Bulls and Williams, in which one driver would hold-up the pack behind, whilst the other streaked ahead and pitted, to maintain the status quo.
However, Russell’s part in this plan went awry when Albon, covering for the sister Williams of Carlos Sainz, created a train behind him, in which Russell was, in effect, the first carriage.
After complaining that Albon was driving “erratically,” Russell snuck through at Nouvelle, impeding the track limits in the process, handing him the penalty.
Russell told media, including Motorsport Week, after the race that his and Antonelli’s afternoon was compromised due to the low starting positions, and
“I mean, we had planned with Kimi and I to basically do the same strategy as what VCARB and Williams implemented with the two drivers,” he said. “But ultimately, qualifying 14th and 15th, there is nothing you can do. You pit on lap one, we’d have finished nowhere. You go long, we finish nowhere.
“Ironically, I finished in a higher position by doing my manoeuvre with Alex than I would have done if I hadn’t. So that in itself proves the system’s pretty flawed.”
Russell said he was somewhat surprised that the penalty given was a drive-through, but conveyed that, ultimately, he was unbothered by it, wanting the clear air on-track to enjoy the experience of driving the circuit.
“I was a little bit surprised, but I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t really care because I was out of the points,” he said. “I didn’t get the chance yesterday to enjoy Monaco. And I just said, ‘screw it, I want to enjoy Monaco’.
“I want to enjoy driving this track full gas. It’s one of the best circuits in the world, and that’s what I did. The last 25 laps was the most fun I’ve had all weekend. Pretty exhilarating.
“I was really pushing my limits, testing myself. And as I said, ironically, if I didn’t do this, I would have finished maybe 15th or 16th.”
Albon concurs with FIA verdict on Russell’s affront
The FIA later clarified the reasons for Russell receiving a drive-through, as opposed to the standard time penalty, which is added onto the driver’s eventual classification at the end.
Its verdict read: “Car 63 left the track at Turn 10 and overtook Car 23. He did not give that position back and maintained his track position,” the stewards’ verdict read.
“It was clear from the radio message where he said that he would ‘take the penalty’ that the overtake was done deliberately as he felt that he was being held up by Car 23 driving erratically.
Adding that all teams were warned prior to the race that the location of the circuit would be given extra attentionf for this reason, the verdict concluded: “That communication also made it clear that the guideline penalty of 10 seconds may be insufficient for this deliberate infringement and that the penalty applied may be a greater penalty than 10 seconds.
“We therefore considered that Car 63’s deliberate infringement warranted a drive through penalty, and we so imposed.”
When asked after the race whether he felt the penalty was fair, Albon told media, including Motorsport Week, that in his opinion, it was justified.
“Yeah, because if that doesn’t happen, then you’re gonna see chaos,” he said. “I think it was good that they put it harsh, because it would open huge loopholes in the future if we started to not punish it. I think it was correct.
Although lighthearted about the incident, Albon added he felt Russell’s manoeuvre was “cheeky,” adding: “When you’re in the car with him on the road, he does some cheeky moves. He did it on the racetrack as well today.
“I knew exactly what he was doing and…it was a bit too obvious, to get away with. But I applaud the effort. He had to do something to get points.
“And he did make us worry for a couple of laps before the before the drive-through came through.”
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