George Russell has accepted responsibility for his clash with Max Verstappen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver picked up a five-second time penalty that scuppered what was set to be a promising race.
Russell was defending hard from Verstappen as he came back through the field following his pit stop when the reigning world champion launched an audacious move down the inside at Turn 12.
The Mercedes man didn’t see the attack coming but Verstappen managed to get alongside by the time the apex arrived, taking the inside line into a corner that does not accommodate two cars running side by side.
Caught off guard, Russell turned in and the two drivers made contact, shattering debris from both cars across the track with this carnage bringing out the safety car.
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Discussing the collision with Sky Sports F1 after the race, Russell confessed: “Just another massively missed opportunity this weekend. The incident with Max was totally my fault. I didn’t see him. Totally in my blind spot around Turn 11.
“I wasn’t really expecting the overtake there because you’ve got the big long straight with DRS afterwards. We were on course for an easy podium. It was pretty straightforward.
“Recovered to P4 but the five seconds knocks us down to P8. This season is one thing after another. Ultimately, the pace was strong but not as strong as the Red Bulls and Ferraris.
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