© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Here is the transcript of the post 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix track interviews and press conference featuring George Russell!
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: George Russell, third place and well appreciated by the crowd here. That has made the difference, you have secured second in the Constructors’ Championship for the team and that means a lot.
George RUSSELL: It means a huge amount. There are so many people back at the factory, in Brackley and Brixworth, who have worked so hard to achieve. It has been a really challenging season. I’ve let the side down a couple of times this year. So, pleased to bring it across the line today. It was tight with Checo at the end. I thought Charles was going to back me up but respect to him for keeping it clean…. and I can chill out now.
Q: Yeah, you’ve got to sweat on your brow. You had to really fight hard there. You knew that Checo, very late in the race, got that five-second penalty. Were you able to compute what was happening with Charles and the gaps or were the team keeping you informed?
GR: I mean, I came out of the pits on a second set of Hards. I was managing a bit and then Checo just came from nowhere. So, I don’t know what happened there. They had great pace. It was really tense at the end. The tyres were dropping off. But just really pleased to have secured P2 for the team. And I’m sure everyone will have a few drinks tonight.
Q: Well, you say that, but you also told me ahead of the Grand Prix that you’ve not been feeling 100% for a couple of weeks.
GR: I was probably coughing four times a lap then, so it was pretty miserable out there, which didn’t help things. But, as I said, just a massive relief to have brought the car home in P3. Can’t believe it’s only the second podium of the year, but really happy to end the season this way.
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PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: George coming to you. Can we start by talking about P2 in the Constructors’ Championship with Lewis coming home ninth, you were Mercedes main man in that fight. How much pleasure does it give you to come home ahead?
GR: Yeah, it was a great weekend. And I’m really pleased to finish on this high because it’s been a really challenging season. One, as a team, but on a personal side, just not getting the results that we probably deserve. The pace has been really strong on so many occasions, but just results kept on slipping through our fingers. So, you know, lady luck maybe on our side slightly today with Checo’s penalty but I think that more than made up for the other races this year.
Q: And let’s talk about the race. It looks tough for you both on track and physically.
GR: Yeah, I’ve been really ill the last two weeks. Firstly, in Vegas with a big fever, I couldn’t sleep and just felt awful. And then I’ve had a horrendous cough that stayed with me all week and in the car. I was coughing every single lap but when you’re strapped into the car, you can’t breathe. You can’t take a deep breath in to get the cough out. So, it was just constantly with me. It was pretty, pretty miserable. So, I was pleased to bring it home when I saw that chequered flag.
Q: Final one for me. Are there any positives from the W14 that you’d like to see taken into next year? Or do you want a fresh start? A completely clean sheet with next year’s car?
GR: Yeah, I think we’re taking a clean slate into next year’s car. I think that the positive is we’re not scratching our heads why we’re so far behind Red Bull. We see so many flaws with this car, which gives every single person back at the factory so much motivation and fire to chase after those problems and find those solutions, which we think will make a good step into next year. But, of course, I expect Red Bull to make a step again. But I’ve got no doubt, come Bahrain, we’ll be in a stronger position than we were in Bahrain this year.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) George, just on how you’re feeling right now. Esteban Ocon was ill earlier this weekend as well and he said yesterday that the body’s not really designed to do 23/24 races a season, particularly with the calendar structured as it is, the trip from Vegas to here. How much do you think F1 has got to really consider wellbeing for the drivers and everyone in the paddock moving forward, for how we structure the calendar and approach things because it’s been a long and testing season for everybody?
GR: I think the drivers, we have it best from every single person in this paddock, the way we travel. We’re in a very fortunate position. But everybody up and down the paddock – I’ve got so many mechanics who are ill, people in the engineers’ office, just really struggling with the constant time zone shifts, the body not knowing where you are, eating at different times, staying in different hotels, different environments, different climates. The body’s getting confused. I think there are talks for next year about personnel being regulated that they can’t do every single race. I think that would be a good thing. I don’t think it’s sustainable to 4,000 people, I think it is, to do 24 races a season, especially when you see how geographically it still doesn’t make a huge amount of sense.
Source: FIA.com
