‘I was already on the limit’ – Russell feels Perez clash penalty was ‘harsh’

George Russell believes there was nothing more he could have done to avoid colliding with Sergio Perez at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver tagged the rear of the Mexican’s Red Bull as Perez went around the outside of Turn 4 on the opening lap, picking up a five-second penalty as a result.

While Sergio thinks the blame was squarely on Russell, the Briton offered his side of the story.

“I thought the penalty was harsh, for me, it was a racing incident,” he said via Sky Sports.

“Checo dived down the outside at Turn 4, then took a tight line. I had [Carlos] Sainz ahead and had to get up on the apex kerb.

“I braked late and braked hard. Checo had the clean line and as soon as he started to turn in I knew we were going to make contact.

“I was already on the limit of my car. I was braking as hard as I could and turning as hard as I could but he just had more grip on the racing line.”

Russell then revealed the lasting impact of the incident on his race, which saw him recover through the field after a long first pit-stop.

“The contact’s one thing, the penalty is one thing, but then I had the damage which cost me 10 seconds as well in terms of race time in the first stint,” he claimed.

“On that first lap at the start, it was just the left side of my front wing [that was damaged.] It felt much better [after the pit stop] but it probably cost me a second a lap at the beginning.

“Having a 20-second pit-stop and coming out in P17 and having to overtake all of these cars, I guess retrospectively [fourth place] was okay, but I expected more.

“I started P4 and finished P4 and probably would have taken that before the race, but I’m a little disappointed at how everything unfolded.”