F1 | Silverstone, a penalty deprives Russell of the top 10 in “Sprint Qualifying”

Despite a concrete race and with a pace worthy of the best, George Russell will not start from the top 10 in the next British Grand Prix, the tenth round of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. Following the contact with Carlos Sainz on the first lap of the "Sprint Qualifying ” today, the Englishman was penalized by Race Direction with a three-place grid penalty, which will force him to start from 12th place.

“Overall it was an interesting race, more complicated than I expected,” said George Russell. “It wasn't easy to keep the tires alive for 17 laps, in addition to obviously keeping Ocon behind. Alpine was very fast with the soft compounds, but fortuitously we finished in ninth place (12th after the penalty) and tomorrow we will have the opportunity to do equally well."

“However I was unlucky to receive a penalty which I consider quite harsh,” continued the English driver. “Despite this, however, we will start from a good place to fight. Today's race was quite strong and we expect to confirm ourselves tomorrow too. Compound management will be fundamental and will be a primary factor for the result. Let's wait and see how the race evolves."

Here are Nicholas Latifi's assessments: “It was a fairly calm Sprint Qualifying, although definitely more intense than a Formula 1 Grand Prix. There wasn't much tire management due to the race distance covered and personally I tried to give my best. In the end we weren't able to attack anyone and therefore we will start from our position in the race too. I'm frustrated because we expected something more. We will try to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way. It will be a long race, but anything can happen."