Russell: Monaco result could have been even better

RaceFans Round-up

28th May 2019, 0:0127th May 2019, 19:46 | Written by Keith Collantine

In the round-up: George Russell says there was a chance for Williams to score an even better result in the Monaco Grand Prix after finishing ahead of some of their rivals for the first time this year.

What they say

Russell, who finished 15th, was the fastest driver on-track for three laps after the Safety Car as other drivers managed their pace:

It could have turned out even better. I think there was one of the guys bunching everybody up in the pack and holding everybody up, unfortunately. There was one point when we thought we were going to be ahead of Sainz in P6.

But that said from my side I was really happy to race. We weren’t really fighting for anything in the final half of the race but I wanted to treat it like we were because I’ve got to sort of test myself and put it on the limit so when the time comes and we are fighting we know what to expect. So I was giving it everything out there and I think the times were fairly decent.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Social media

Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:

Top effort by the pitcrew to record the fastest stop of the race yesterday at 2.07 seconds 😱

Well done boys 👏 #MonacoGP 🇲🇨 pic.twitter.com/piLHo9wVi5

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) May 27, 2019

This is a misleading statistic.

Points were only awarded to the top six then; the top 10 score now. There have been other occasions when four Honda-powered cars appeared in the top 10, e.g. the 1991 British Grand Prix:

2nd: Berger
4th: Senna
7th: Modena
8th: Nakajima

— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) May 27, 2019

Well… came to Indy this year having never race engineered an oval race before. Big learning curve. Looked like we might pull it off but we just weren’t quite good enough. Congrats @simonpagenaud / @benbretzman & great to nab another @Team_Penske win for The Captain. Next year.

— Gavin Ward 🇨🇦 (@GDubRacer) May 26, 2019

Hulkenberg briefly thought he was in with a chance of getting the fastest lap bonus.#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/6Mq3qQJXHj

— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) May 27, 2019

Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory

Links

Comment of the day

Bring Alonso back to Indianapolis? Stephen says McLaren need a different plan:

Let Alonso and the Indianapolis 500 go. The problem is McLaren went into the Indy 500 with the wrong attitude. If McLaren are serious about the Indy 500 then they need to do more races, and especially a lot more races. If they aren’t prepared to do that then it is better they just go home.

If McLaren decide they want to compete in the rest of this season’s races, then they might be able to persuade Alonso to stay, but equally they might not. Does it matter? Not really for the rest of this season McLaren’s results won’t actually help them to win a race
Stephen Crowsen (@Drycrust)

From the forum

@Deityallah has a question about attending the next round of the championship in Canada

Happy birthday!

No RaceFans birthdays today

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

30 years ago today Ayrton Senna won the Mexican Grand Prix ahead of Riccardo Patrese and Michele Alboreto

Author information

Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...
Read more about Keith Collantine, find all their articles and get in touch with them

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

54 comments on “Russell: Monaco result could have been even better”

Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th May 2019, 0:20

Nice to see Williams are still nailing their pit stops.

Also, even if misleading, it’s nice to see Honda cars doing well, that’s definitely a promising sign.
1. Ross
  28th May 2019, 3:05
  
  Yea, McLaren became horrendous at pit stops at the depths of their low. It’s a sign of the heart beating deep in the chest of Williams that they’re keeping focussed on improvements in every area.
2. Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
  28th May 2019, 8:10
  
  Agreed on both counts.
3. Nitzo (@webtel)
  28th May 2019, 8:27
  
  @phylyp
  Not sure where i read this or perhaps heard this on commentary–Williams F1 didnt have the right tools to make the usual sub 3s pit stops this year and that the got hold of the equipment only in Monaco and thus the super-fast pitstop.
  Once again, am not entirely sure of this.
  1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
    28th May 2019, 8:30
    
    @webtel – umm, wasn’t that Racing Point? I think it was on the commentary, and I think it was Racing Point, not Williams (but I could very well be wrong!)
    1. Nitzo (@webtel)
      28th May 2019, 9:14
      
      @phylyp :
      Ahh. Yes. I did hear it and i heard it wrong :-P
      Must be Racing Point.
ColdFly (@)
28th May 2019, 0:22

A bit disingenuous to call that Formula1 tweet ‘misleading’, when you make exactly the same statement less than a day later in the stats article.
1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  28th May 2019, 4:24
  
  The stats article mentioned both ’87 and ’91 though, didn’t it? @coldfly
  
  “With Gasly fifth and the Toro Rosso pair behind Sainz, all four Honda-powered cars finished in the points. This last happened at the 1987 British Grand Prix, when Honda-powered cars filled the top four places.
  However at that time points were only awarded to the top six. There have been other occasions when four Honda-powered cars finished in [the] top 10, and would have all scored points under today’s scoring system, such as at the 1991 British Grand Prix.”
  1. ColdFly (@)
    28th May 2019, 7:35
    
    Difference between an article and a tweet: more room for nuance, background, and correcting ‘misleading’ statements.
    @phylyp.
    1. Robbie (@robbie)
      28th May 2019, 13:21
      
      I wouldn’t have called F1’s tweet misleading, as it was accurate. I would have just said ‘additionally…’
      1. ColdFly (@)
        28th May 2019, 21:20
        
        Agreed, @robbie.
        Even a ‘however’ would’ve done.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
28th May 2019, 2:57

It certainly is good to see Honda performing well.

Speaking of manufacturers – my Australian news site mentioned a proposed merger between Renault and FCA – no that could have some interesting ramifications in F1.
1. Ross
  28th May 2019, 3:12
  
  I saw a comparison between last year’s RBR and this year’s machine. They seemed to have increased the size of the coke bottle area to provide more space for the Honda PU than last year’s Renault, the roll hoop inlet has also increased, I’d be interested to know whether that’s the case or the photos were from a misleading angle.
  
  As for the merger… it’s slated but there are a lot of hurdles to jump. I doubt there will be any change to the Renault, Alfa, or Ferrari teams…
2. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  28th May 2019, 3:31
  
  “a proposed merger between Renault and FCA – no[w] that could have some interesting ramifications in F1.”
  
  Oh, yippee! The best of Renault power combined with Ferrari strategy. Just can’t wait for them to steamroller Mercedes. ;)
  1. Hugh Lynn
    28th May 2019, 6:24
    
    Hopefully it won’t be Renault making the PU and Ferrari doing the strategy?
  2. G (@unklegsif)
    28th May 2019, 6:24
    
    Fairly certain FCA no longer own Ferrari
    1. anon
      28th May 2019, 7:04
      
      @unklegsif, you are correct that FCA no longer owns Ferrari, although the Agnelli family do still have a significant stake in both companies through Exor, which is their investment company.
    2. Phylyp (@phylyp)
      28th May 2019, 8:22
      
      @unklegsif – Thank you, I did not know that. Wow, my information is a few years out of date!
    3. DB-C90 (@dbradock)
      28th May 2019, 9:45
      
      You’re correct. They do I think own Alfa Romeo though.
      1. Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
        28th May 2019, 14:54
        
        @dbradock
        They own both Alfa and Ferrari, however as anon mentioned Ferrari and in order for Marchionne to create more value for the Agnelli/Elkann family, he split Ferrari from FCA and put 10% for its stocks for trading in NYSE, 5% are owned by Pierro Ferrari and the remaining 85% is owned by the Agnelli family.
        As for Alfa Romeo, it is still owned by FCA, but Marchionne was already planning before his death to split it with Maserati from FCA in order to even create more value and to purify the FCA road cars division so that the luxury brands such as Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa will be separated from the ordinary brands such as FIAT.
  3. DB-C90 (@dbradock)
    28th May 2019, 9:44
    
    Thanks for fixing my typo @phylyp. Oh for an edit button:(
3. ColdFly (@)
  28th May 2019, 7:45
  
  a proposed merger between Renault and FCA
  
  Small steps to move to a spec series; Mercedes is already using Renault PUs.
  
  I don’t want to be accused of misleading other readers, and need to clarify that it is a Mercedes road car using the Renault engine.
  1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
    28th May 2019, 8:57
    
    “I don’t want to be accused of misleading other readers”
    
    @coldfly – been there, I know that feeling :)
  2. anon
    28th May 2019, 19:54
    
    @coldfly, in fact, there are a few engines that Daimler and Renault-Nissan share between their models – there are A-Class and B-Class cars that use a 1.5 litre Renault-Nissan diesel engine in the lower base models, and both companies worked on a direct injection 1.3 litre petrol engine that is being launched in the Megane and the A-Class.
    There are also some small vans where Renault-Nissan and Mercedes share the chassis and the engines (the Mercedes Citan uses the Renault Kangoo chassis and the same production centre in Mauberge).
    
    That said, there were rumours that Ola Kallenius, who is now taking over from Dieter Zetsche, might be prepared to let those arrangements lapse in favour of forming a partnership with BMW instead (preferring to focus the company’s efforts on the premium sector). It does seem plausible that Renault might be interested in partnering with Fiat, partially because of the issues with the Ghosn trial and tensions with Nissan, and partially because Fiat and Renault are probably closer aligned in terms of target market, which potentially allows them to share more parts and technology.
    1. ColdFly (@)
      28th May 2019, 21:23
      
      Thanks for insights and assessment.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
28th May 2019, 3:49

Thanks Keith for selecting my comment as the Comment of the Day. Yes, McLaren should do it right or not at all. Doing it right requires commitment and dedication.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th May 2019, 3:58

I imagine Ricciardo’s gut feels nervous every time he enters the pits during the MonacoGP.
1. ColdFly (@)
  28th May 2019, 7:49
  
  I imagine Ricciardo’s gut feels disappointed every time he enters the Renault motorhome rather than the energy station ;)
Matthijs (@matthijs)
28th May 2019, 6:15

The tweet about all Hondas in the points is supposed to show the progress Honda made, but you can argue that it’s doing the exact opposite. “Dear Honda, on the one track where engine power is not important, you achieve the best result since a long time.”
1. Ross
  28th May 2019, 6:24
  
  Lol, I didn’t actually look at like that at first. Now you say it though… I mean Red Bull won last year with only half of a Renault PU… ;)
2. nase
  28th May 2019, 12:36
  
  Spot on!
3. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  28th May 2019, 12:43
  
  @matthijs – a very eye-opening take on that result! 😊 Let’s see how the straights of Canada treats them.
  1. Robbie (@robbie)
    28th May 2019, 13:12
    
    Come on it’s not like power is ‘not important’ at Monaco. Just less so than other tracks. One still needs reliability and drivability, and Honda has been showing that all season with all their cars. And when you include the context of how far they have come in a handful of years in this the most complex of chapters of F1 ever, I’d say Honda is doing an incredible job. Let’s talk about where Renault are.
    1. Matthijs (@matthijs)
      28th May 2019, 13:29
      
      @robbie My comment was meant to be lighthearted and @phylyp responded accordingly. Let’s not overanalyse. Honda is doing a terrific job, but Monaco is not the best example to show their progress.
      1. Robbie (@robbie)
        28th May 2019, 14:28
        
        @matthijs Yeah fair comment. I was almost going to put the term light-hearted in my comment as I thought that was what Keith was being.
4. Dave
  28th May 2019, 13:30
  
  To be fair, Honda’s progress is shown by RB having chosen their engines. Once that happened, some good points in one race or another was a racing certainty.
fabrizzio
28th May 2019, 6:55

RUS says he could finished higher but there was “one of the guys bunching everybody up in the pack and holding everybody up” – didn’t they say him it was Hamilton…?
1. anon
  28th May 2019, 7:07
  
  I think he is referring to Norris, who was running a long stint on the medium tyres and held up the lower half of the grid in the process.
  1. Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
    28th May 2019, 8:36
    
    Prior to the safety car, Ricciardo was the cork in the bottle, then later Raikonnen as well.
2. P
  28th May 2019, 8:38
  
  Actually he should have finished lower. He got preferential treatment by the team during the SC period over Kubica and without that he would be below his teammate.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
28th May 2019, 8:09

The cream on Russells race for me was the fact he finished in front of Lance.
Perhaps I am being petty ….. but …… :)
1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  28th May 2019, 8:23
  
  @nullapax – not petty, in my opinion. The Racing Point car was dire at this circuit, and Stroll even more so.
  1. ColdFly (@)
    28th May 2019, 8:42
    
    Stroll, GIO and the Ferrari strategy guys the clear strugglers this weekend.
    
    But let’s wait with what Josh Holland will surprise us this weekend ;)
    1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
      28th May 2019, 8:55
      
      @coldfly – Ferrari’s sophisticated race strategy technology revealed: https://imgur.com/a/0Rip3rN
Gulp
28th May 2019, 8:37

It certainly could have been better for Williams – Robert was ahead and putting that car where it shouldn’t have been until Gino destroyed his race!
ColdFly (@)
28th May 2019, 9:10

Long sit, but absolutely worth it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eNJi45iIB8&feature=youtu.be
1. Jere (@jerejj)
  28th May 2019, 13:35
  
  @coldfly Overall a great podcast, but the only thing what left bothering me from that podcast was the censoring (and the blurring of the mouths, which is a bit useless given that not that many people can actually do lipreading. 1 out of 10 people at max for reference) of the brake balance and engine braking figures that Nico gave to Daniel. Of course, the only reason I can think of that could/would justify doing that is to avoid the other 19 drivers of being able to use those figures to their own benefit when attempting to overtake on track, i.e., to make sure that only Daniel can use them to his advantage in the future races, which is a bit selfish in my view. Should I get an opportunity (through an autograph signing session or something) to ask him something in Sochi, where I’m going for the Russian GP in late-September, I’d use it to ask him about those figures that Nico R gave to him back in May in the hope that he’d be willing to trust me enough to tell them to me given that I’d promise him not to share them with anyone especially other drivers, LOL. I doubt that’d work, but one can always try and convince.
  1. ColdFly (@)
    28th May 2019, 16:01
    
    @jerejj, strange, no blurring or beeping for me.
    Never thought YouTube would have different versions (deliveries) in different countries.
    1. Jere (@jerejj)
      28th May 2019, 16:47
      
      @coldfly Well, which BB and EB-figures were in question then?
BaKano (@bakano)
28th May 2019, 11:23

No doubt that Honda has been looking good, even though the PU elements usage is high, but it is no doubt curious that last year by this time they had 2 wins. They also had 4 retirements but one, Azerbaijan, was due to collision between the 2 drivers…
I’m still not sure if they will manage to grab a win this year…
1. BaKano (@bakano)
  28th May 2019, 11:25
  
  Crap, made a mistake in previous comment as I was thinking of Red Bull but forgot to state it, so it should have been “by this time, Red Bull (not they, Honda) had 2 wins” :-/
Jere (@jerejj)
28th May 2019, 13:19

”There was one point when we thought we were going to be ahead of Sainz in P6.”
– Sure.
1. Jere (@jerejj)
  28th May 2019, 13:51
  
  “We got a late call on the Safety Car to box, and to be honest as soon as we came in, my gut feeling was that it wasn’t the right call, because the tyres were fine and we had the pace.”
  – Yes indeed. He probably would’ve finished P6 had he not pitted during the SC-period, and K-Mag P7.
F1oSaurus (@)
2nd June 2019, 11:22

And then I look at that “next gen” Porsche and it looks identical to what we have been seeing for decades.