George Russell took a cheeky dig at Red Bull rival Sergio Pérez about F1 rules after his fierce battle for a podium spot at the French Grand Prix. The Mercedes star got the better of Perez to seal P3 late in the day, but was furious when the pair made first contact in the race.
Russell attempted an overtake on lap 42 by diving down the inside of Perez at the entry to the chicane as the pair jostled for position in the French GP most exciting battle. Due to limited space, the Brit made contact with Perez, who used the runoff to maintain his position and left his rival fuming.
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| George Russell (Image: SKY SPORTS/GETTY) |
Russell expressed his delight after the race in helping Mercedes secure its first double podium of the season, with Lewis Hamilton finishing second behind Max Verstappen. He did, however, take a shot at Perez for their incident, claiming that the F1 rules when a driver is on the inside are 'pretty clear.'
"I'm absolutely sweating and a bit knackered now, to be honest," he told Sky Sports. It was a long and difficult race. The pace was fast, but we had a lot of trouble with the warm-up on that restart, and Checo [Perez] was all over me. But seeing that chequered flag and bringing home P3 made me happy.
"I saw him [Perez] struggling when Sainz got by, and we only had that one chance. I had him on the inside for myself. When you're on the inside, the rules are simple: front wheel to rear wheel. He didn't give me much room, but I'm glad I came home, bringing P3. Mercedes has two podiums, which is fantastic."
Russell used a strong restart following a late Virtual Safety Car to get the better run out of turn 14 and pass Perez on lap 50. He successfully held off the Mexican late challenge to secure his fourth podium finish of the season and cap off an excellent weekend for Mercedes at Le Castellet's Circuit Paul Ricard.
Russell will have been relieved to have a happy ending after being agitated by the incident, debating with his engineer shortly afterwards that the FIA should have looked into it. He contended: "The rule is front wheel to rear wheel. When attacking, this is the rule. I was unquestionably front wheel to rear wheel."
But Toto Wolff was focused strongly on catching Perez after realizing his tires were struggling and interrupted the brawl by ordering Russell to rest. "George, keep your head down. You can hunt him down." Mercedes is now just 44 points behind Ferrari in the constructors standings.
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