“I was at fault, but I never would’ve admitted it”: George Russell claims it’s in F1 drivers’ DNA to deny their mistakes

George Russell claims he knew he was at fault while hitting his car on Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, but he would’ve never admitted it.

During the US Grand Prix race, George Russell collided with Carlos Sainz, who spun on the track and took on considerable damage, which led to his early retirement from the race.

For a long time, Russell didn’t admit his mistake. On the contrary, the British race driver blamed his Ferrari counterpart for leaving him no space.

In the end, justice was served to Sainz. Russell was penalized with a five-second penalty. Now, Russell claims that he knew he was at fault, and he reasons why he didn’t immediately admit it.

Also read: Schumacher thinks it would be unfair if his $1 million earning nephew doesn’t get to drive in F1 next year

George Russell rationalizes his behaviour

Ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, Russell has taken a U-turn from his earlier stance. He admits that he was at fault against Sainz, but he could never have admitted it until FIA’s verdict as he thinks it’s not in an F1 driver’s DNA to admit his mistake.

“In the car, you try to defend yourself in every way. I knew I was at fault in the incident with Carlos, but I never would’ve admitted it before the FIA made their decision,” said Russell. “This is the mentality of F1 drivers. Once they gave me the penalty, I apologised.”

Well, Russell isn’t wrong about that. The first reaction of several F1 drivers is to blame their opponents, even if they are at the wrong end. At times, it also leads to a war of words between two teams too.

Is FIA too soft on Russell?

While Russell admitted his mistake, Sainz had a complaint with the FIA. He thinks the governing body goes too easy on the Mercedes race driver and often spares him for his grave errors.

The Spaniard is actually accusing the FIA on some grounds. This year, Russell has escaped several blunder errors on the track. He even spoilt Mick Schumacher’s race in Singapore, and Haas’ Twitter handle even mocked him.

No, George, no, that is so not right 😬#HaasF1 #SingaporeGP

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) October 2, 2022

Will Russell introspect on his repeated offences is the question of the hour. Meanwhile, how the FIA will react to the comments by the Ferrari superstar remain to be seen.

Also read: 7 title winner Lewis Hamilton is unsure about quality racing at Vegas strip

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More