George Russell was relieved after finishing third in Formula 1‘s Hungarian Grand Prix, saying he was “glad to get by” Charles Leclerc after their fierce battle.
The Briton completed the podium behind Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Hungaroring, after starting fourth, having missed out on pole by just five hundredths.
Leclerc had a difficult day at the office, ultimately missing out on the podium having started from pole amid a catastrophic drop in pace.
The Monegasque later revealed that a chassis issue was the culprit, which he tried to nurse whilst battling the Mercedes at the Hungaroring.
Russell eventually got past with eight laps left, after Leclerc desperately tried to keep the car ahead, with the pair touching at one moment. Too desperately, according to the stewards.
He was handed a five-second penalty for blocking Russell during the battle, although it made no difference to his finishing position.
After the race, Russell gave his version of events, saying he “wasn’t happy” about Leclerc’s conduct during the tussle.
“When you’re coming down the straight at 330 [k/mh] and you dive into the corner, you’re right on the limit of your car’s grip,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“You can’t just brake and turn to avoid somebody because you’re already at the limit of that grip.
“I made my intentions really clear, diving to the inside, and he moved after he had committed to braking, which is not allowed in the rules because of that reason.
“He did it once, I wasn’t happy about it. The second time, I was like, I’m going to just send it down the inside now, and he did it again, and we made contact.
“I was glad to get by, but I think when you watch it on TV, you think, why can’t you just turn to avoid it? As I said, you are right on the limit of the car’s potential.”
Leclerc nonplussed about penalty after ‘a race like this’
Leclerc defended his manoeuvre, saying he had repositioned his car before braking, but said he did not envisage Russell calling for the penalty.
“I knew I was on the limit. I don’t have much opinion about it,” he explained.
“I felt like I moved before braking, and then I braked, obviously angling my car towards the apex, which is normally what I do.
“But I can’t imagine George [trying to get Leclerc a penalty] on the radio. It’s not really the case.”
Leclerc appeared more concerned about the issue with his SF-25, which curtailed his progress and thwarted what could have been a potential race win.
“I don’t mind, especially on a race like this,” he added.
“If there was Safety Car on the race and I would have taken a five-second penalty, I probably would have been a lot more frustrated, but it wasn’t the case.”
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