Breaking news
Formula 1 Chinese GP
Russell: Chinese GP rivals passed me "like I'm stood still"
Williams driver George Russell says he felt like he was “stood still” when he found himself racing Formula 1 cars from other teams in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Valentin Khorounzhiy Stuart Codling
Published: Apr 16, 2019, 4:58 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Russell's strategy of starting on medium tyres meant he had climbed to as high as 12th after several midfield cars made early pitstops and Daniil Kvyat served a drive-through penalty in the Toro Rosso.
But the Williams man was shuffled down the order before long, and, when asked by Motorsport.com about how it felt to be racing other cars, admitted he took little interest in the short-lived battle.
“I wasn’t even looking, to be honest,” he said. “The pace differential is so large that they come and go like I’m stood still, really.
“It’s not really a surprise, we know what our pace is and my job is to make the most of that.”
Russell said his lowly 16th-place finish was an expected one as “we're just being realistic” about the FW42's current pace, but nevertheless described the Chinese GP as “an intriguing race”.
He was happy with how he stacked up against teammate Robert Kubica, who finished 16 seconds behind despite making one stop fewer. The Pole was left admitting that he had “no race pace”.
Russell said: “I was really pleased with my first stint, I pulled a sizeable chunk to Robert and at this stage he’s the only person I can compare myself with. We were sort of hanging on to the cars ahead of me.”
However, Russell's own race was later compromised by having to slow down to allow the leading cars to lap him, which led to his Pirelli rubber dropping out of the temperature range.
“In my middle stint it was very tricky because I came out of the pitlane on the harder tyres, had two really good laps, and then I started getting blue flags,” he explained.
“Once I got the blue flags the tyres just dropped out of the window. I was pushing absolutely flat out and they weren’t coming back to the window.
“Because of that the tyres weren’t in the range and I was just getting slower and slower, and the tyres were getting colder and colder. That’s why we had to do the additional pitstop at the end, unexpectedly.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article F1 not headed for Williams '92 repeat, says Brawn
Next article Vettel irked by "poor journalism" over Ferrari team orders
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
George Russell
George Russell has lost 90 points to Max Verstappen in F1 2026 runner-up battle
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
11 h
George Russell has lost 90 points to Max Verstappen in F1 2026 runner-up battle
George Russell's Brazilian GP qualifying fury explained: "Pole was there for the taking"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
George Russell's Brazilian GP qualifying fury explained: "Pole was there for the taking"
More from
Williams
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Latest news
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
7 h
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
8 h
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 8 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
8 h
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe