Why Red Bull protested George Russell as Canadian GP F1 result finally confirmed!
George Russell won the Canadian Grand Prix from Max Verstappen but that victory was placed under scrutiny when Red Bull protested the result of the Montreal race
Red Bull protested the result of the Canadian Grand Prix. Both race winner George Russell and second-placed Max Verstappen have been summoned to see the stewards with Red Bull protesting directly against the Mercedes racer.
Christian Horner confirmed that it was to do with Russell’s actions behind the latest safety car period caused by Lando Norris’ crash into team-mate Oscar Piastri. Verstappen briefly moved past Russell behind the safety car but the Dutchman accused his British rival of “aggressively braking” over the radio.
And his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase suggested the Mercedes driver had been trying to catch out the four-time Formula 1 champion. Verstappen also complained on multiple occasions that Russell had not stayed within the 10 car lengths that the race leader is required to remain in when behind the safety car.
Speaking after the race, Verstappen said: “I think we were both trying to say to the Safety Car to speed up because he was only going 120kph. But I think the maybe the Safety Car was doing that to give a bit more time to maybe get a race lap in.
“So I think George was trying to speed up to the Safety Car, I was trying to do the same, and once he tried to speed up the Safety Car he then backed out and caused a bit of confusion.”
Despite Verstappen appearing to play down Russell’s actions, Horner seemed to suggest he felt the situation warranted an investigation as he said after the race: “Max was very clear and the rules are very clear, so that’s down to the stewards.”
The stewards later confirmed that Red Bull had argued that Russell had “braked unnecessarily along the back straight between turns 12 and 13 as a result of which Car 1 [Verstappen], which was following Car 63 [Russell], overtook Car 63 and then dropped back behind Car 63 after Car 63 accelerated”.
They also accused Russell of “displaying unsportsmanlike intent” by complaining over the radio about the fact Verstappen had moved past momentarily, claiming the Brit would have “known that it would be overheard by race control and in the hope that Car 1 would be investigated”.
But Mercedes argued back, insisting that “periodic braking is commonplace and to be expected during safety car deployments”. They also said Verstappen should have been ready for Russell to apply the brakes, telling the Dutchman that he “out to have anticipated” it.
The stewards eventually decided that, though Red Bull’s protest was admissible, it was dismissed because it was “not founded”. They found that Russell had not driven erratically, nor had he engaged in unsportsmanlike conduct, and so he kept the victory with Verstappen second.
