‘Not good enough from my side’ - Russell on costly shunt in Canada
Russell ran fourth in the early stages of Sunday’s race in Montreal, right behind Fernando Alonso and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
His strong race was undone by a crash at the Turn 8-9 chicane on Lap 12, resulting in the only Safety Car of the race.
Surprisingly, Russell was able to continue after heading into the pit lane for a new front wing and fresh tyres.
Running inside the top 10, his race ultimately came to a premature end when Mercedes saw a brake issue on his car.
Explaining the incident after the race, he said: “I just went a bit deep into the right-hander and into the left I just touched kerb.
“I clearly hit it with the bottom of the car and the next thing I knew I was up in the air. When I landed I was in the wall.
“I’m kicking myself because it’s such a small error but with big consequences, but that’s how it is on circuits like this. Not good enough from my side.”
2009 F1 champion Jenson Button described Russell’s shunt as “unusual” and that he “won’t sleep well tonight”.
"Most corners around the world you would be fine as you can run wide. But you have the walls up against the kerb here,” he said. “It’s tricky.
"It's unusual for George to make a mistake like that. It will hit home. He won't sleep well tonight and wake up upset with himself. It's a lot of points lost which we don't normally say with Mercedes but for them they are in a fight with Aston."
