“Totally my fault” - Russell takes full responsibility for Verstappen clash

Russell was enjoying a strong race in Las Vegas, running in contention for the podium.

However, when Verstappen looked to overtake him, the pair collided.

Russell was given a five-second time penalty as a result, dropping him from fourth to eighth. 

Speaking to Sky after the race, Russell reflected on his clash with the three-time world champion.

“Another massively missed opportunity this weekend,” he said. “The incident with Max was totally my fault. I didn’t see him. Totally in my blind spot going around Turn 11.

“I was expecting the overtake there. You’ve got the long DRS afterwards. We were on course for an easy podium after. It was pretty straightforward.

“Recovered to P4, the five seconds knocks us down to P8. This season is one thing after another!”

On the whole, it’s been a disappointing season for Russell, who has scored just one podium in F1 2023.

The British driver struggled to hide his frustration.

“Pace was strong but not as strong as the Red Bulls and the Ferraris,” he said. “I think, when you have a fast car, luck is always on your side. When you’re on the back foot, luck is never on your side.

“Ultimately we just need to keep on pushing, go into next week and see what we can do. It was just on the wheel cover. If anything, it would have helped my graining because it would have given me extra cooling. I think we had a few cuts in that tyre so we did the wise thing and changed that set of tyres.

“We recovered P4. Even without the penalty I would have been disappointed. We should have been on that podium. It would have been a nice way to end the season after such a disastrous one. This tops it off…”