George Russell kept his Canadian Grand Prix victory after a failed protest by Red Bull after the race, which suggested that he should have been penalised for erratic driving behind the safety car.
They claimed that the Briton had been unsportsmanlike in his behaviour by trying to deceive Max Verstappen into passing him, which would have seen his rival punished with a few laps of the Canadian Grand Prix to go.
The stewards accepted Russell’s explanation and determined that he did not do anything dangerous by braking where he did.
It was a significant result for Mercedes too – their best for well over six months and enabled them to keep hold of a valuable double podium.
Toto Wolff doesn’t think Verstappen supports Red Bull’s claims, and was 100% sure after the race that his rivals were trying to make something up.
F1 fans labelled the FIA a ‘joke’ for taking so long to throw out the protest after the race, as they deliberated for hours over what to do.
READ MORE: Max Verstappen makes ‘really good’ George Russell comment after Mercedes rival wins the Canadian Grand Prix
Helmut Marko didn’t understand why George Russell avoided a penalty when Seb Vettel didn’t
Russell’s F1 future ‘intentions’ are clear and he intends to stay at Mercedes in 2026, despite interest from other teams. Earning another victory in Montreal may have driven his market value up.
But not everyone was pleased to see him win. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko complained to Sky Sport that Red Bull had once been penalised for a similar action.
“You can measure that exactly, we had the situation in Hungary when Sebastian Vettel lost a victory because he did not keep the distance,” he said after the race. “Let them look at it in peace.”
The incident that the Austrian was referring to came at the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix, where Sebastian Vettel was handed a victory nabbing drive-through penalty for failing to stay within 10 car lengths of the car in front.
As a result, he finished third, and even explained himself after the race that he didn’t ‘understand’ the decision of the stewards.
“It’s been explained to me, but I still don’t understand it. We’re unlucky – it would have been a walk in the park,” he told BBC Sport.
Although it wasn’t a carbon copy of the situation this time, Marko seemed to indicate that if Vettel was punished, then Russell should come under question too.
READ MORE: George Russell explains why Canadian Grand Prix win could now lead Mercedes to ‘struggle’ at other races
Why haven’t Mercedes signed George Russell to a new F1 deal for 2026 yet?
Mercedes are currently in the peculiar position of being a top team with no contracted drivers for the 2026 F1 regulations.
They appear to be in no rush to make a decision on their duo, but Russell said something strange about contract talks and appears to be the more eager of the two parties to put pen on paper.
The team have invested significantly in him through the years, but if a figure like Verstappen became available, they wouldn’t want anything in the way of signing him.
Amid Red Bull’s recent struggles, maybe they feel that there’s a chance they can nab Verstappen for the future.
Where that would leave Russell is tricky to assess, given his poor relationship with the four-time champion. There would be plenty of options on the grid for him still.
