(Motorsport-Total.com) – After the Monaco Grand Prix, George Russell is an incredible 68 points behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli. While the 19-year-old secured victory in the Principality after his pole position, Russell experienced a weekend to forget.
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Sixth on the grid was not a very suitable starting point for the Mercedes driver. Russell also made little progress at the start.
Stuck behind Hadjar
Although Max Verstappen dropped out of the race early as a competitor, the 28-year-old was stuck behind Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull for laps. Despite his comparatively slow pace, worn tires, lack of power, and some errors in the Nouvelle chicane, Hadjar was able to stay ahead of the Mercedes driver until the pit stops.
Russell too fast in the pit lane
At the end of lap 31, Russell pitted to execute an undercut against Hadjar. However, the joy over the successful maneuver against the Red Bull driver was short-lived. Russell was ultimately one of numerous drivers penalized for pit lane speeding. The time penalty was five seconds.
Russell also lost a lot of time behind McLaren driver Lando Norris in his second stint. At least this problem resolved itself for the Mercedes driver, as the reigning world champion had to retire from the race with a technical issue.
On lap 58, Russell was, of all people, lapped by his championship rival Antonelli. The championship leader was undeniably the fastest driver in Monaco and impressed with best times throughout the race.
On lap 61, the first safety car of the day followed. Lance Stroll had thrown his Aston Martin into the barrier in the last corner, allowing drivers like Russell to make another pit stop.
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Error in the pit lane
But while Lewis Hamilton, for example, was able to serve his five-second penalty during his stop, Mercedes missed this very opportunity. The pit crew is not allowed to work on the car for the first five seconds of the stop if a time penalty needs to be served.
However, the Silver Arrows crew immediately started changing Russell’s tires. Thus, the penalty was not served correctly.
On lap 73, the race was restarted after a second safety car and a red flag. Charles Leclerc, just like Stroll before him, had crashed his SF-26 in the last corner, causing the safety car. Subsequently, the red flag was deployed because the asphalt at the exit of the corner was crumbling.
Russell could not benefit from the opportunity to unlap himself after being lapped by his teammate. Due to his team’s error, the Mercedes driver was ultimately handed a drive-through penalty.
In the end, Russell finished 14th, with a ten-second time penalty for Nico Hülkenberg moving him up to 13th place. In any case, the Mercedes driver, who was considered a top favorite before the season, leaves the Principality without championship points.
For comparison: Kimi Antonelli won his fifth consecutive race in Monaco. Due to Russell’s zero points, even Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton is ahead of the Mercedes driver after the race weekend.
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