May 26 (GMM) George Russell has apologised twice after a frustrated outburst at the end of the Canadian GP weekend earned him an FIA penalty – capping a disastrous turn in his title fight with Kimi Antonelli.
The Mercedes driver arrived in Montreal under pressure but responded strongly, taking sprint victory, pole position, and ultimately leading the race – before retiring with a power unit failure.
As he prepared to climb from the car, an emotional Russell threw away the cockpit headrest cushioning insert – triggering an FIA investigation.
In its official statement, the FIA confirmed Russell received a 5,000 euro fine, suspended for 12 months pending any repeat offence.
“The driver explained that he was extremely frustrated having failed to finish the race,” the FIA stated.
“He apologised to the Stewards for his action and acknowledged that it did not set a good example,” the statement added, explaining that Russell had also expressed his “embarrassment”.
The FIA added that Russell also offered to apologise publicly.
Russell then did exactly that on social media.
“Apologies to the marshals and FIA for making their job harder than it needed to be,” he wrote.
“Lots of emotions in the moment.”
Red Bull Racing could not resist mocking the incident.
Replying to a fan account on X discussing Russell’s outburst, Red Bull’s official account posted a sarcastic reference to Russell’s earlier criticism of Max Verstappen, when the Briton accused the Dutchman of showing “unnecessary anger and borderline violence”.
The timing could hardly have been worse for Russell.
He arrived in Canada only 20 points behind Antonelli and appeared finally to be regaining momentum in the championship battle. Instead, the gap has now blown out to 43 points.
Russell himself admitted after the race that the championship is increasingly becoming Antonelli’s to lose.
Team boss Toto Wolff agrees the Italian teenager is now the clear favourite. “Of course he can be champion,” Wolff told Canal Plus. “Absolutely convinced.”
“He’s won four races in a row and has a lead of around 40 points. I don’t think he can lose control of the championship.”
Wolff, however, also insisted that Russell can still recover. “George needs to make up ground, and he will, I’m sure.
“What happened in Canada wasn’t his fault.”
Spanish newspaper Marca also compared Antonelli’s mentality and aggression to a young Verstappen. “He has what it takes to be a legendary driver,” the paper wrote.
“Perhaps the most similar is Max Verstappen. This Kimi is a copy of the first version of the Dutchman.”
Former Formula 1 driver Christijan Albers meanwhile added further salt to Russell’s wounds with unusually blunt criticism on Viaplay.
“I’m just calling him a pu*sy,” Albers said of Russell’s cautious approach into turn 1 battles. “On the other hand you just see that Kimi is absolutely not afraid.”
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