Hamilton and Alonso messages of support "surprising"

Williams

Hamilton and Alonso messages of support "surprising" – Russell

Williams driver determined to fight back from rookie mistake

Will Gray

Thursday 12 November 2020 12:57 Updated: 13:09

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George Russell has revealed to being surprised by the messages of support he received from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso after his race-destroying mistake in Imola.

Russell planted his Williams firmly in the wall in the closing laps of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after trying to warm up his tyres behind the safety car, eliminating him from what was set to be his first points finish of his F1 career.

The highly-rated Mercedes protégé was distraught after the rookie mistake but has been buoyed by the overwhelming outpouring of encouragement that followed.

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“I had a huge amount of support, which meant a huge amount to me," said Russell. "It was very surprising - from race winners, fellow drivers, ex-world champions, even people outside of the sport.

"To have the support and praise of the likes of Lewis, Fernando, it means a huge amount. They are some of the most respected people in the sport.

"If people see that, it means a lot to me. It didn’t take anything away from the mistake, but it will help me moving forward.

“Obviously, it’s still gutting but I think in life you have to move on, look forward, to learn from your mistakes in the past. In the long run, it will help me become a more rounded, stronger driver.“

Williams is yet to score a point this season and Russell wrote an open letter to the team after the incident, apologising for throwing away the opportunity and reflecting on his error.

“I think following the mistake it gave me time to think about the racing approach," added Russell. "I think racing sometimes rewards the risk-takers but it also sometimes rewards the more cautious approach.

“I think last weekend, most likely I would have come away with a result had I taken the more cautious approach, but it then made me think 'Where you draw the line? Where do you be more cautious?'

“We are all racers and we are all here to absolutely push boundaries, and in doing that mistakes will come along. It made me think should we fear mistakes, and I don’t think we should.

“So this is what I said to them: Do I regret what happened? Absolutely. But will it change my approach this weekend and moving forward? No, it won’t because we’re all here to push boundaries because we are all racers and that’s what we do.”

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