F3: Russell penalized for Gunther clash

George Russell has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the first race of the next Formula 3 European Championship weekend at Pau for causing a collision in Hungary.

Russell was attempting to pass championship leader Maximilian Gunther for first place in wet conditions in race three at the fast right-hand Turn 11 when they made contact, sending Gunther's Prema Powerteam car into the wall and inflicting suspension damage that ended the race of Russell's Hitech GP machine. Gunther had been taking wide racing lines in the treacherous conditions while Russell had been using tighter lines.

"He needed to collect points and he saw I had a massive pace advantage over him," said Russell. "He was on very different lines to me – every corner he was wide and I would carry more speed being tight. I knew if he did his normal line and I did my normal line I could pass him, and he made a mistake at Turn 9 [before the fast Turn 10] and I got a good exit. He made it tough for me; he didn't give me anywhere near as much room as he should, we touched and that was it."

While some onlookers believed Gunther to be at fault for the collision, the German said the stewards' decision was the correct one.

"It was quite simple," he said. "We were P1 and P2, and I was on the same line like every lap. He was behind me but a little to the inside at a corner where in my opinion you cannot overtake in the rain. I left him room to overtake and he lost control – you could see in the video that he got oversteer."

Originally on Autosport.com