The stewards investigated the moment George Russell was released from the garage by his Mercedes team but almost collided with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri in the pit lane.
Mercedes were slapped with a fine after unsafely releasing George Russell into the path of another driver during Japanese Grand Prix qualifying.
But Russell avoided picking up a grid penalty himself as a result of the incident. That’s despite him almost colliding with Oscar Piastri in the pit lane during the first part of Saturday’s session at Suzuka.
Mercedes gave Russell the green light to join the pit lane, but was released directly in front of the moving McLaren. The Aussie had to think quickly and take avoiding action to make sure they didn’t make contact.
Over the radio, he vented his frustration at having had to do so and described the move as “very dangerous”. The stewards felt it was worth looking into and, after qualifying, both drivers were summoned to give their sides of the story.
After the trial, it was concluded that it would have been unjust to punish Russell. However, Mercedes were found to be responsible for the incident, resulting in a £4,300 penalty imposed on the Silver Arrows.
In detailing how they reached their decision, the stewards explained that the driver of Car 63 (George Russell) mentioned that after receiving the go-ahead from his mechanic, he had planned to drive on the working lane. However, he noticed the mechanic from Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) in his peripheral vision and in an effort to avoid a collision, he had to switch to the fast lane. Car 81 [Piastri] approached without being seen by him.
The driver of Car 81 mentioned that he had to swerve to avoid Car 63. The footage from the pit lane video reveals that the mechanic of Car 63 didn’t check the pit lane before releasing the car.
“Even though the stated intention of the team was for Car 63 to move down the working lane then blend in prior to the pit exit, it is still the responsibility of the team to release the car in a safe manner and good practice would dictate that prior to the car being released, the pit lanes (both fast and working) should be checked for approaching vehicles.”
Russell is set to begin Sunday’s race in ninth place on the grid as intended after being outperformed by his teammate Hamilton in qualifying for the first time this season.
In a post-session interview, he expressed regret over the narrow margins that placed him farther back on the grid than he desired.
The British driver mentioned that there is fierce competition between their team, McLaren, Aston Martin, and Ferrari. Getting a perfect lap puts you in the lead, while a mistake puts you at the back.
They were aware that this track would be tough for them, especially in the high-speed corners.