George Russell admitted he made a mistake trying to pass Oscar Piastri which cost him a chance to win the Canadian Grand Prix.
“It felt like a missed opportunity to be honest,” said Russell, who led the early stages of the race from pole position but finished third.
Russell was passed by Lando Norris and Max Verstappen towards the end of his first stint.
“We were really quick at the beginning of the race on the inters,” said Russell. “And then obviously Lando came through really fast. So then we jumped back onto the slicks, made a couple of mistakes out there, just pushing the limits.”
A second Safety Car period and an extra pit stop for another set of slick tyres left him fourth behind Verstappen and the McLaren drivers. Russell attacked Piastri heading into the final chicane but the pair made contact, sending the Mercedes driver off the chicane.
That cost Russell another place to Lewis Hamilton and although he was able to re-pass his team mate and Piastri for the final podium place, he believes more was possible.
“We had the pace,” he said. “Max was very strong at that point in the race. But then when we put the mediums on at the end, we were really, really fast.
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“I think that mistake with Oscar, when I tried overtaking him and I lost the position to Lewis, cost us at least P2 and maybe we could have fought with Max late in the race.
“But we’ll take all the positives from this weekend. First podium, first pole position of the year and exciting moving forward.”
The stewards are investigating Russell’s collision with Piastri. The Mercedes driver said it was “pretty tight out there with Oscar, obviously Lewis at the end as well.
“I think it was hard, fair racing. It’s so difficult when there’s only one dry line so you’ve got to be committed and trust your rivals.”
Although Russell held he “paid the price” for his clash with Piastri, he was pleased with his performance. “Our first podium of the year, we truly had a really fast car this weekend and to be back in the mix.
“Fighting for victory was really fun and that’s what Formula 1 is about and that’s why we go racing.”
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2024 Canadian Grand Prix
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