Vegas F1 podium “thrown away” after not seeing Verstappen in blind spot

George Russell impressively overtook Alpine racer Esteban Ocon on the final lap to claim fourth place at the finish line. However, his superb effort was marred by a five-second penalty imposed for a collision with Red Bull’s race winner, Max Verstappen, which pushed Russell back to eighth place overall.

During the race, Verstappen made a bold move by diving down the inside into Turn 12, leading to a collision with Russell.

Despite the penalty and damage from the incident, Russell believed he had a clear shot at a podium finish, given his third-place start.

“It was pretty straightforward until the incident with Max. Just totally didn’t see him in the blind spot. Wasn’t expecting the overtake,” Russell explained. “I wasn’t even really fighting him because we knew that Max wasn’t our race. We just had to keep the tyres alive.”

Following the contact, Verstappen’s RB19 suffered a broken right-hand front wing endplate, while Russell’s car lost a wheel cover, leading to a safety car period due to debris on the track.

Russell speculated that the safety car might have been advantageous in controlling tire temperatures. “The only piece of damage was the wheel cover, which if anything, probably would have helped the graining by having that extra bit of cooling,” Russell explained. “So, if it wasn’t for the safety car, we would have continued and would have gone onto the podium.”

Despite the cool November temperatures not having the expected impact on the Pirelli tires, Russell believed the safety car made the tires “rock solid”.

He also expressed his frustration and concerns regarding the dangerous conditions created by the cold tires under the safety car. “It was really dangerous under the safety car. The tires were rock solid and they were sort of colder than you’d experience in the rain really,” Russell said.

On the topic of race start times, Russell suggested that it depends on whether the focus is solely on entertainment.