George Russell was left kicking himself after finishing fifth in Monaco as he was left to lament a mistake that cost him a podium finish. Meanwhile, his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth, was happy with the improved W14’s performance.
Russell started eighth and worked his way up to third as he opted not to pit while the drivers in front opted to change tyres. As a result, Russell gained track position when the rain started and all the drivers were forced to pit for the intermissions.
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However, a mistake on his first lap out of the pit lane saw him lose position to Esteban Ocon and Hamilton, and to make matters worse for Russell, he also collided with the Red Bull marked from behind by Sergio Pérez, much to his frustration.
“I’m kicking myself to be honest, a little mistake cost us a podium,” said Russell. “I came out of the pits comfortably ahead of Esteban and Lewis, there was a caution at Turn 5, I dropped back and as soon as I hit the brakes I locked up and followed the caution.
“I think that’s almost a lesson that when you’re not focused sometimes, or not focused at all, that’s when mistakes happen. He probably wouldn’t have made that mistake if there hadn’t been a caution there.
Monaco Grand Prix 2023: Pérez kicks Russell after the Mercedes driver rejoins the track in front of the Mexican
“Yeah, really disappointed because after that pitstop I would have basically guaranteed a podium… P3 was definitely achievable today. It was only later that I found out that my mistake was not shown on TV, I’m not sure if that’s a positive thing or not.”
Reminded that these were tough conditions for all the drivers, Russell replied: “Yeah, it definitely was, it wasn’t the easiest of conditions. But it was conditions where I feel like we can maximize the opportunities.
“Where you know as a driver, if you do a better job than the rest, you can pick up the pieces, and we were on track for that until we weren’t, or until I wasn’t with my mistake. Yeah, I really don’t know what else to say.”
Hamilton, on the other hand, started the race in fifth and, after capitalizing on Russell’s mistake, pressured Ocon to the final podium spot to no avail, but was still happy to take the “significant points” home for the equipment. .
“I’m pretty happy, we’ve made progress,” Hamilton said. “Going into the weekend, I didn’t know where we would be, so fourth and fifth, those are really good points for the team.
“So, thank you very much to everyone at the factory for bringing those updates. It’s been a lot of work to bring them here and we kept them in one piece and brought them home, you know we beat the Ferraris and got some significant points.” As a team.”
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Asked how much he read about the updates during the race, Hamilton said: “Barcelona next week is the best test circuit for us, so I think it was very difficult to tell here.
“The car feels really stiff, there were a lot of bumps, yes tricky, but I definitely noticed one particular part of the car that was better, but I’m sure next week everything will be much, much better.