George Russell has explained why he opted to skip media duties after Formula 1’s Mexico City Grand Prix, earning his Mercedes team a financial punishment.
The Brit finished sixth in the race, with teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing third to confirm his World Championship victory.
Many considered Russell, given his experience, guile and the strength of the Mercedes W17 package, to be the favourite for the title this year, but bad luck and a dip in performance saw the young Italian take the crown.
Russell now faces a battle to secure P2 in the Drivers’ standings, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen firmly in the mix to finish runner-up.
After congratulating Antonelli and his family, Russell excused himself and made an early and hasty exit from the track, skipping media obligations as a result.
It is understood that Mercedes approved the request from its driver, despite the €5,000 fine the FIA imposed for it.
George Russell needed ‘to get out of here’ after Mexico City disappointment
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Russell explained the decision was spawned from an overall difficult race, which saw him receive a 10-second penalty for punting off Isack Hadjar on the opening lap.
“I was extremely disappointed Sunday night,” he said. “More from the fact of missing out on a great result from something again outside of my control, and that was just a really tough pill to swallow,” he said.
“This season it’s been, ‘tough moment, pick yourself back up, tough moment, pick yourself back up,’ and I think, as an individual, I’ve continued to have that resilience of being able to always pick myself back up.
“It kind of just got to the point in Mexico where I was like, ‘I need to just get out of here’ because it’s just been relentless, what’s happened this year.
“It’s been tough. [But] I’m here, four days later, ready to go again. And I think for any individual, or sportsperson, or businessperson, you never have every year of your life that goes the way you want.
“We all have problems we deal with. We have good days, bad days, good years, bad years. I think it’s important to not let that define you.
“You’ve just got to come back stronger, and that’s what we’re here to do.”
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