"He's so much on the edge with the car" - Guenther Steiner on why George Russell is making mistakes with the Mercedes car

Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has claimed that George Russell has always been on the 'edge of the car' which results in him making mistakes similar to his Canadian GP antics. The Mercedes driver started the race in Montreal last weekend in pole position and led the field for the first half of the race.

However, the British driver was unable to hold on to the pressure from Max Verstappen and Lando Norris from behind and fell to P3. He tried to get back into the winning position but a flurry of mistakes whilst defending from Norris and later chasing his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri cemented his position on the final spot of the podium.

While appearing on The Red Flag podcast, Guenther Steiner spoke about George Russell's performance at the Canadian GP and his tendencies to make mistakes. He said:

“I think he did a very good job this weekend. Obviously, in the race, there were a few mistakes and things. But how much is he on the edge with the car?

"As you said before, the car before that race was not the fastest car out there. So maybe he had to push harder than the other ones. And the harder you push, the easier it is to make mistakes.” (18:11)

F1 pundit gives her take on George Russell's admission of mistakes

F1 pundit Natalie Pinkham advised George Russell to 'hold back' on the microphone and not accept the mistakes so readily after the race. While appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, the Sky Sports presenter said:

“He knows he was on pole. This was his greatest chance of winning this season. He would’ve been really frustrated. He maybe needs to hold a bit more back when the microphone goes straight under his nose.

"I shouldn’t say that! Because I love to get the raw, real reaction from drivers, not PR speak! If I was managing him I’d say, ‘Hold that back initially and we will go through it in the team debrief later.’”

Despite being a bit disappointed, George Russell was pleased overall with Mercedes W15's performance as they haven't been contending for race wins and podiums in the 2024 season thus far. In his post-race interview, he claimed (via Crash.net):

“If you told us ahead of this weekend, pole position and P3? We may not have believed you. It was a tricky race. One millimeter wide, and you’re off. For me, it was one too many mistakes at key moments…”

Russel's first podium of the season helped him extend his lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings to 14 points in their battle for P7 in the championship. He has scored 69 points in nine races and two Sprints thus far.