"Doesn't matter if we are fast or slow" - Mercedes' George Russell 'satisfied' with consistent podium finish at 2022 F1 Italian GP

George Russell, who started the 2022 F1 Italian Grand Prix from the front row this afternoon, crossed the checkered flag P3 to secure his seventh podium of the season at Monza. In doing so, he defended his position from Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, who charged through the grid from P18 but just missed out on a podium finish.

In a post-race media interaction, Russell said:

"I said on the radio to the team, doesn't matter if we are fast or slow, we need to keep getting these podiums. Unfortunately this weekend we definitely weren't where we wanted to be as a team but nevertheless we can look back on these three races, two podiums, and a P4. We got to be satisfied with that."

Daniel Ricciardo was forced to retire from the race towards the closing stages of the race and stopped in the second sector with a reliability issue, after which the safety car was brought out. The 53-lap race ended behind the safety car as a result, making for a rather anticlimactic end to what could have been a rather interesting race finish.

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George Russell describes grid penalty system as a "double-edged sword"

George Russell confessed that he thinks the grid penalty system is a "double-edged sword". To promote sustainability, there is a limit on the number of power unit elements that teams are allowed to use in a given F1 season. This, however, often leads to failures and reliability issues as a result of over-using.

Speaking about the grid penalty system, as quoted by MotorsportWeek, the Briton said:

“I mean, it’s a double-edged sword. We’re trying to be more sustainable in F1, cutting down the parts and engines we use across a season. With more and more races, we have three engines to take us through 23 races, running flat-out on a single engine. It’s a huge amount. It’s normal there are going to be failures along the way. I’m sure F1 will have a rethink along the way.”

He also admitted that he did not deserve to be starting the 2022 F1 Italian Grand Prix from the front row this afternoon. He only set the sixth-fastest time but was promoted to start second due to all the engine penalties that other drivers took. George Russell said:

“We don’t deserve to be starting P2 after today’s performance. It was again a frustrating session because we can’t seem to get the car in that sweet spot. FP1 the car felt great, in FP2, FP3 substantially worse. In Q1, the car felt great, a few tenths off Ferrari. Q2 was worse, Q3 was worse. But ultimately that’s been a theme this season.”

George Russell confessed after the qualifying session on Saturday that while he did expect to potentially challenge Charles Leclerc in the race, he did not believe he had any shot at battling Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, who started the race in seventh, eventually secured his eleventh race win of the season this afternoon ahead of Leclerc, who came second.

Also Checkout:- F1 Schedule 2022