After successfully avoiding the carnage at Turn 1, Russell was in eighth place by the time the race was abandoned on Sunday’s first lap with the red flag.
In extraordinary scenes at the restart, the entire field except for pole sitter Lewis Hamilton peeled into the pit lane at the end of the warm-up lap to switch to slick tires, with Hamilton’s Mercedes alone on the starting grid.
Due to Williams’ positioning at the end of the pit lane, Russell saw an opportunity to take the lead of the race by skipping a number of cars in the queue as the field came out of the pits.
Russell had asked Williams if he would be able to jump forward in the slow lane instead of queuing in the back of the fast lane, but when his team sparked back to reply “negative” it was too late .
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The Briton then led the field out of the pits and found himself in the net lead, while Hamilton pitted at the end of the first full race lap.
F1 rules say drivers must leave the pits in the order they arrive at the exit, meaning Russell faces a slam dunk penalty.
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But after realizing Russell’s mistake, Williams told her driver to let a wagon train through, led by eventual race winner Esteban Ocon.
Russell then fell back to eighth place behind Fernando Alonsos Alpine. He scored his first points for Williams in ninth place before being promoted to eighth place after Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification.
After the race, Russell thanked the FIA for using “common sense” to approach the situation.
“First of all, thanks to the FIA for showing a bit of common sense because I think they could have easily given me a pass or something that would have been a little tough,” he said.
“It’s such a unique situation that everyone is lining up in the pit lane. I saw an opportunity and thought let’s try. So I’m glad that we were able to just give the position back and that really shows a bit of common sense. “
F1 Race Director Michael Masi later announced that it was Williams, not the FIA, who directed Russell to return the positions he had gained in the pit lane.
“George recognized his mistake and the team immediately got in touch and said, ‘We made a mistake, we will fall behind Fernando,'” said Masi. “It was actually at the initiation of the team.”
“The fact that Williams’ pit stop position is at the pit exit at this particular event should therefore have fallen back. Actually, they should start in the order in which they arrive at the pit exit. “
Masi confirmed that if Williams had not acted, he would have relayed the incidents to the stewards.
“I would have said that right away,” he says.
The post How Williams saved Russell from penalty after passing the F1 pit lane first appeared on monter-une-startup.
