#Russell’s memory of British GP retirement led to Canada crash recovery | 2023 Canadian Grand Prix

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Russells memory of British GP retirement led to Canada crash recovery | 2023 Canadian Grand Prix

George Russell says he raced on despite heavy contact with a wall in Canada because he learned from his retirement at last year’s British Grand Prix. On lap 12 the Mercedes driver hit the sausage kerb at the apex of turn nine which caused the rear of his car to skid into the barrier. It damaged his rear-right tyre, but Russell returned to the pit lane for a new set. He said afterwards he remembered not to stop the car as he did after a collision on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix last year. Russell got out of his car to check on Zhou Guanyu, who skidded upside-down at high speed into the barrier, and was unable to rejoin the race after returning to his car. Russell admitted he “was quite surprised that we managed to continue” after he hit the wall. “I was very close to pulling up. Gallery: 2023 Canadian Grand Prix in pictures “I learnt from Silverstone not to just stop too early. For sure it’s a difficult pill to swallow but that’s how the sport should be, one small mistake and you should be punished for it.” “I just went a bit wide into turn eight,” Russell added. “I knew I was going to hit the kerb, but I wasn’t expecting the sausage kerb to have such a violent response and next thing I’m in the air when I landed, lost the rear and I was in the wall. “So it all happened really quite suddenly. Sorry to the team, for sure there was P3, P4 on the cards for us both.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free He fell from fourth to last after pitting for repairs. Although he was able to recover into the points places, Russell was later forced into retirement by a braking problem. He suspects he encountered more problems with brake cooling because he was running further down the order than the team expected before the race began. “We could have finished in P8 but we were in a lot of traffic,” he said. “Obviously we weren’t expecting to be in that position. I’m pretty sure it was just because I was in so much traffic we weren’t planning to be, and the brakes weren’t in the right spot for that.” Despite the incident Russell was upbeat about his car’s performance in the third race since the team brought an extensive update for it. In Bahrain Mercedes finished no higher than fifth, but a change in car design has led to podium finishes over the past two races. “I think going from Barcelona to here, two quite contrasting circuits, bodes well for the future,” said Russell. “But of course, as a team we’re looking for more than just second best. We need to close that gap to Red Bull, but definitely shows we’re on the right path.” Russell has now dropped to sixth in the drivers’ championship, two behind Hamilton, with Mercedes second in the constructors’ standings. Become a RaceFans Supporter RaceFans is run thanks in part to the generous support of its readers. By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the same in whichever currency you use) you can help cover the costs of creating, hosting and developing RaceFans today and in the future. Become a RaceFans Supporter today and browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below: Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 F1 season Browse all 2023 F1 season articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/