George Russell issues public apology after FIA offer comes to light
George Russell faced the FIA stewards after throwing his headrest in Canada
Mercedes driver George Russell has apologised to marshals and the FIA after throwing his car’s headrest on the track following his retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix.
It comes after the FIA stewards revealed the 28-year-old had offered to make a public apology after receiving a suspended €5,000 fine.
George Russell apologies for throwing headrest after Canadian GP DNF
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Russell retired with a battery problem after 29 laps of Sunday’s race in Montreal, with the Mercedes driver cutting a frustrated figure in the aftermath of his stoppage.
Television pictures showed Russell throwing his headrest on the track as he climbed out of his stricken W17.
The FIA stewards took a dim view of what it deemed to be an ‘unsafe act’ with Russell hit with a suspended fine of €5,000.
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In their report, the stewards revealed that Russell said he was “extremely frustrated” in the heat of the moment and had “expressed his embarrassment” over the throwing incident.
The report added that Russell had apologised to the stewards “and acknowledged that it did not set a good example.”
The stewards confirmed that they had accepted the apology from Russell, who had also “offered” to issue a public apology.
Russell followed through on his offer on Monday morning with a short post to social media.
He wrote: “Apologies to the marshals & FIA for making their job harder than it needed to be. Lots of emotions in the moment.”
As reported by PlanetF1.com on Monday, Russell’s headrest-throwing incident drew a response from the Red Bull Racing team on social media.
Responding to a screenshot of the incident in Canada, Red Bull’s official social media account wrote: “Borderline something something.”
This appeared to be a nod to a remark made by Russell during his war of words with Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver and four-time world champion, at the end of the 2024 season.
Following an argument between the pair at the penultimate race of that season in Qatar, Russell had argued that Verstappen turns to “borderline violence” in the face of disappointment.
Russell said of Verstappen: “As soon as something doesn’t go his way, he lashes out with unnecessary anger and borderline violence.”
Russell’s first retirement of the season saw him fall 43 points behind Mercedes teammate and Canadian Grand Prix winner Kimi Antonelli in the drivers’ standings after five races of F1 2026.
Antonelli became the first driver in F1 history to claim his first four victories in consecutive races having also triumphed in China, Japan and Miami earlier this year.
Russell’s only win of 2026 to date came at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March.
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