F1 stewards make George Russell penalty decision hours after Japanese GP

07 April 2024 , 09:18

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George Russell was investigated by the Japanese GP stewards (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

George Russell has avoided punishment for forcing Oscar Piastri off track late in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Briton attempted a bold overtake heading into the final chicane with a few laps left to go. But he ended up leaving little room for the McLaren and so Piastri had to take the run-off to avoid a collision.

He stayed in front as a result, but Russell got the overtake done shortly afterwards anyway to finish seventh on the road. However, the stewards investigated that move to see if the Mercedes driver had been too aggressive in his first attempt.

After studying the footage and hearing both sides of the story, they decided a penalty for Russell was not necessary. No further action was taken against the Briton and his finishing position is secure.

The stewards said the circumstances of the incident meant it was "challenging" to arrive at a final decision. They eventually decided that Russell did not "dive in" to the corner and felt he had "left sufficient room" for Piastri who decided instead to take the safer option and use the run-off area.

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The report also revealed that "both drivers and team representatives agreed this incident did not warrant the imposition of any penalty".

Speaking after the race, Russell said: "We moved forward today and that was positive. The plan to start on the hard tyre after the red flag was to give us the flexibility to attempt either a one-stop or a two-stop.

"It was good to have this freedom and, ultimately, we ended up on the two-stop strategy as the one stop wasn't working. We had a challenging opening stint but after that first stop, our pace looked competitive to those ahead.

"It was an exciting race towards the end. It's always nice to be attacking rather than defending, and it was good, hard racing. There was some contact with Oscar, which was a racing incident, but I was glad to get the position in the end.

"It's close between the four teams behind Red Bull and qualifying is going to be critical at each race. Whoever starts ahead will likely finish at the front of that pack. We know we've got work to do and we will keep pushing. Hopefully a track like the one in China will suit us better."

Daniel Moxon