George Russell explains hasty exit after Mexico GP: “I try not to spit my dummy out”
George Russell explains why he left Mexico City early after Sunday's race.
George Russell has explained his hasty exit from the Formula 1 paddock after a disappointing Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Briton started second on the grid after being narrowly beaten to pole position by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, but Russell’s race quickly unravelled in dramatic fashion.
After losing ground immediately at the start due to an energy deployment issue in his Mercedes, Russell collided with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, leading to him picking up a 10-second penalty.
Russell would go on to finish sixth as team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli wrapped up the world championship by claiming the final spot on the podium in third.
After congratulating Antonelli in parc ferme, Russell made a speedy exit from the track and missed his mandatory post-race media duties, resulting in a €5,000 fine for Mercedes.
"In racing you always pick yourself back up and for me the best way to pick myself back up was getting out of there,” Russell told media including BBC Sport ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
"It was as simple as that, really. I was just very upset with missing out on the chance of a good result because the championship for me was already over but I just couldn't believe how things had panned out again.
"In that moment, yeah, I just wanted to get out of there.
"I think I'm 99% of the time a true professional and I try not to spit my dummy out, but sometimes missing out on doing the press – OK, it's not ideal but not the end of the world.
"Moments like that you don't really want to deal with it.”
Russell added: "I don't think I've ever had this many setbacks in my career.
"I went through after the race with my engineer, the season, race by race, and we realised we had six races this season with no issues, and 14 races where we've had an issue of some sort.
"To give perspective, in the years gone by, we would maybe have two races where there's issues, or I think in 2023 we had four races where we had issues. This season we've had 14 races, and as I said, I've always sort of picked myself back up.
"As much as I love talking to you [the media] after the race, I didn't really fancy it on this occasion.
"So, I was like, 'I'm gonna just get out of here and go for a nice dinner and think about something other than the rubbish season we've had'."
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