George Russell triggered controversy in Monaco after a bold, deliberate chicane cut to overtake Albon, earning a rare drive-through penalty.
Russell has no regrets about deliberately cutting a corner to overtake Alex Albon during the Monaco F1 Grand Prix.
Russell had been stuck behind Albon for several laps, with the Thai driver dropping back to help his Williams teammate, Carlos Sainz, get a free pit stop.
With overtaking virtually impossible on the streets of Monaco, Russell took matters into his own hands and deliberately cut the chicane to get past Albon. Crucially, this allowed him to create some breathing room and build a gap ahead of Albon before his pit stop.
Russell Risks, Penalty Pays
However, Russell was handed a severe penalty requiring a mandatory drive-through, whereas stewards typically impose a 10-second penalty.
“I was a bit surprised by the severity of the penalty, but to be honest, I really don’t care.”
“It’s Monaco. That’s how it goes. Kimi and I had actually planned it the morning of the race, but it got ruled out. We didn’t expect Williams to go ahead with it, or Racing Bulls to do the same, and in the end, it was the only way to score decent points in Monaco.”
“We were doomed if we didn’t go for it. At some point, I thought, ‘whatever, I don’t care’, because I wasn’t in the points. I wasn’t going to finish anywhere, and I just wanted to enjoy driving in Monaco. We lost everything on Saturday because of the failure. I didn’t get that chance in qualifying.”
“I did 25 flat-out laps in Monaco, and the most ironic part is that even with the drive-through, I finished better than I would have without it. I would’ve stayed stuck behind Alex, then ended up behind Tsunoda and Hülkenberg. It’s a bit of a broken system.”
Deliberate, Defiant, Drive-Through Decision
The FIA pointed out that the penalty was harsher than usual due to Russell’s deliberate overtaking move.
“The radio message where he announced he would take the penalty made it clear the move was intentional, as he was frustrated by Albon’s erratic driving.”
“Anticipating that such situations could arise during this Monaco Grand Prix, all teams had been informed before the race by the race director (at the stewards’ request) that any deliberate track exit at Turn 10 to pass a car or a train of slow cars would be closely scrutinized. The communication also made it clear that the standard 10-second penalty outlined in the directive might be insufficient for such a deliberate offense and that a more severe penalty could be applied.”
“We therefore judged that Russell’s deliberate infraction warranted a drive-through penalty, and we applied it accordingly.”
Asked whether his rival’s penalty was fair, Alex Albon said: “Yes, because if not, chaos would follow.”
“It was a good thing they made the sanction more severe, because it would have opened up huge loopholes in the future if we started not penalizing it, so I think it was correct.”
Cheeky Russell, Bold Move
When asked if he was impressed by Russell’s boldness in attempting such a move, Albon added: “George is cheeky. When you’re driving with him on the road, he makes cheeky moves, and he did the same on the track. I knew exactly what he was doing, and it was a bit too obvious to get away with. But I respect the effort. He had to do something to score points. He gave us a bit of a scare for a few laps before the drive-through was enforced.”
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