George Russell’s Team Radio After Max Verstappen Avoids US GP Penalty

The United States Grand Prix in Texas on Sunday was not without its controversy, as George Russell and Lando Norris were both given penalties during the race, with Max Verstappen escaping without one despite doing a similar move to that of the Mercedes man. Russell’s penalty came after he forced Valtteri Bottas off the track at turn 12, but despite the five-second penalty, the Brit recovered to finish the race in sixth place, his third sixth-placed finish of the season, following similar results in China and Saudi Arabia.

Despite Russell’s five-second penalty, the most controversial incident of the Grand Prix in Texas happened later on in the race, when the McLaren driver, Norris, accelerated while off the track in order to motor past his title rival, Verstappen. Norris was eventually given a five-second penalty for the manoeuvre, as he was deemed to have gained an advantage by leaving the track.

Mercedes Not Happy With US GP Decisions

George Russell was penalised, while Max Verstappen wasn’t for similar actions

However, that then led to questions from not just Formula 1 fans, but also from Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff and driver Russell. They were quizzing exactly why they were punished for forcing a driver off the track earlier in the race, while Verstappen wasn’t, despite doing similar to Norris in the final stages of the race.

Wolff took out his frustration at Russell’s penalty over the team radio, initially responding to the decision with an aghast reaction of “What?”, before labelling the decision to penalise his driver a “total joke” during the conversation. The Austrian then took his anger a step further post-race by suggesting bias when talking to his driver on the cool-down lap. The Brit asked whether Verstappen had been given a penalty for his move on turn 1, to which Wolff replied: “He didn’t get a penalty, and at the end, Lando got a penalty for being forced off and overtaking on the outside. I guess it is a bit of biased decision-making.”

In an interview with Sky Sports F1, Wolff elaborated on his thoughts, saying: “It is inconsistent. With Valtteri, it wasn’t even a race. [In the sprint] we saw a few of those incidents that were exactly the same and weren’t penalised when racing for positions, real positions, actually. So receiving that penalty is completely odd and bizarre. I think we know why, but I can’t say that on television.”

On the possibility of over-zealous stewarding, Wolff said: “Sometimes there are correlations. When there is decision-making, that is a bit interesting. At the end of the day, it is a difficult job. Some are very good, some are trying their best, and you need to salute these guys.”

US Grand Prix Results

It was a memorable day for Ferrari

The victory in Sunday’s race was Charles Leclerc’s third win this season after triumphs at the Monaco and Italian Grands Prix, in what has been a fine season for the 27-year-old Monaco native. Despite a third-place finish, Verstappen is still in pole position to claim the Drivers’ Championship, which would be a remarkable fourth title in a row, as he leads the standings with 354 points, 57 points ahead of second-placed Lando Norris, whose fourth-place finish on Sunday did little to close the gap on the Dutchman. George Russell, meanwhile, is seventh in the overall standings after his sixth-place finish. The penalty during the race proving to be costly for the Mercedes man.

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Sky Sports F1 pundit Jenson Button hit back at Christian Horner during the pair’s discussion about the Norris & Verstappen incident at the US GP.

Attention now turns to the Mexico Grand Prix next weekend, where Norris and Russell will be aiming to put right disappointing days for each.