Russell on his error: 'When not fully on it, mistakes happen'

George Russell claims a podium was "definitely achievable" during the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver explained his mistake in a conversation with Sky Sports after the race. 

Mistake for Russell in Monaco

Lewis Hamilton became one of the first drivers to change tyres [in the expected pit window] during the Monaco Grand Prix, whereas his teammate extended his stint. Russell looked to take advantage of a possible safety car, or the rain. The rain fell, but he still didn't capitalise. 

“P3 was definitely achievable today. My mistake wasn’t shown on TV. I was comfortably ahead of Lewis [Hamilton] and Ocon because I hadn’t pitted on the slick. I went straight from the hard to the intermediate, so came out in P5 behind the Ferraris who were on slicks, so we were effectively P3 on the road," Russell recalled. 

"There were yellow flags, so I backed off, and when I touched the brake, I just locked up and followed the yellow flag. That was a lesson to me that sometimes when you’re not fully on it and fully focused that’s when mistakes happen. Really disappointed because if that mistake didn’t happen, P3 was almost guaranteed.”