A narrowly avoided penalty for Russell
Russell avoided a penalty during the Hungarian Grand Prix. The British driver overtook everyone in the pitlane after the red flag. An illegal overtaking that could have had serious consequences.
From second to seventh place on the return from the pits after the red flag, Russell tried everything to achieve a feat in this Hungarian Grand Prix. While the cars were all lined up waiting for the new start, the British driver chose to pass on the right and overtake his teammate Nicholas Latifi and the other drivers, ending up second coming out of the pits.
In chaos, all opportunities are worth taking. Despite his team’s negative response to his request to go, Russell still chose to take the risk. He passed everyone hoping for a potential first place with Lewis Hamilton’s pit stop at the end of the lap. He explained his choice wanting to seize this unlikely opportunity.
« I thought I was leading the race at one point, to be honest. It was just at the restart that the situation was very strange, with everyone queuing at the end of the pitlane. […] So I saw an opportunity and said to myself “let’s go” because the reward outweighed the risk.
How did @GeorgeRussell63 end up second, but then drop back to P7? Wonder no more… #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/BjXmdhkmQz
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 3, 2021
But Russell should not have done it. Fortunately for him, Williams’ quick thinking allowed them to avoid a penalty. The team sent a message to Michael Masi, the race director of Formula 1, admitting the mistake and offering to drop behind Alonso. However, Masi had not yet reported the British driver’s illegal overtaking maneuver to the stewards. It was unnecessary for the race director and the stewards to penalize him.
« George Russell realized his mistake and immediately the team came and said “we made a mistake, we will go behind Fernando Alonso”. It was actually the team’s initiative. »
Russell can thank his team and the FIA
A penalty narrowly avoided for the young unlucky driver since the beginning of the season. He was especially grateful to the FIA for not penalizing him. Russell, however, scored his first points with Williams by finishing in eighth place ahead of Max Verstappen.
« I am really grateful to the FIA for using a bit of common sense. They could have come and given me a penalty. It was great. I wasn’t too sure what I had to do. But I saw an opportunity and I took it.
