FIA explains George Russell decision after Leclerc United States GP incident

The FIA stewards opted to take no further action against George Russell after an incident also involving Charles Leclerc at the United States Grand Prix.

An investigation was launched into Russell potentially forcing Leclerc off the track. But, having determined that there was “nothing dangerous” going on, the stewards also noted that this incident happened during practice, in explaining the decision not to take matters any further.

George Russell escapes FIA punishment in Austin

The moment in question occurred during the second hour of practice at the Circuit of The Americas.

Leclerc found himself in a close shave with Russell through Turn 18, the Ferrari going clonking over the kerb as he tried to muscle his way past the Mercedes through a small gap around the outside.

Russell received a black and white warning flag for forcing another driver off the track. That later became an investigation from the FIA stewards, but no further action was forthcoming.

The stewards have released a document explaining why that decision was made.

The verdict reads: “The stewards reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence.

“Car 16 attempted to pass Car 63 into Turn 18. Car 63 moved to the left. Car 16 left the track and rejoined in front of Car 63. Both cars were on preparation laps.

“The stewards considered that there was nothing dangerous in the manoeuvre and took into account the fact that this was in a Free Practice session.”

Leclerc set the pace in both practice sessions on Friday. Having topped FP1 by 0.084s from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, his margin was 0.042s over P2 Kimi Antonelli, Russell’s Mercedes teammate, by the end of FP2.

Antonelli could seal a first world championship in Austin, if results fall heavily in his favour.

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Russell ended United States GP Friday in fifth, having seen his initial push lap on the soft tyres struck off for track limits, before he was forced to bail out of his next attempt following a big snap through the esses.

Both Mercedes drivers are manning the upgraded W17 in Austin, following the team’s Singapore GP experiment which saw Russell revert to the old spec.

Russell reflected: “It’s been a useful day for us on track as we continue to build our knowledge around our update package.

“Whilst the car wasn’t in a great place in FP1, we made some good improvements for FP2 and definitely moved the car in the right direction. There is still more work to do though, particularly given how strong some of the other teams looked today.

“I didn’t get the most out of the single-lap running either; I lost one lap to track limits and then had a big moment in sector one on the next, so there was more performance there. We’ll work hard overnight and see what we can find ahead of tomorrow.

“As we expected coming into the weekend, the margins between the top four teams look small. Getting ourselves in the fight at the front will not only be about making improvements with the car overnight but also executing well in qualifying and the race.”

Read next: United States GP: Leclerc completes Friday clean sweep as Antonelli looms