George Russell clarifies comments after controversial ‘three driver’ assessment

Having said there are “three drivers you wouldn’t feel comfortable going against,” George Russell says his comment was taken somewhat out of context.

What he really meant is there are three drivers who are “a cut above the rest”.

Speaking to Motorsport.com after the Spanish Grand Prix, a race in which Russell recorded his best result of the season with a third-place finish, the Mercedes driver was asked about runaway champion leader Max Verstappen.

With five wins from seven races and three on the trot now, the defending World Champion has hit a sweet spot of note.

It had Russell declaring the reigning World Champion does not need to be as aggressive as he has been in previous seasons, but that doesn’t mean others on the grid aren’t.

Revealing that there are “maybe three drivers on the grid who you wouldn’t feel comfortable going against”, Russell stated that there is “trust between most of the drivers”.

Most it is, except those three, who he doesn’t “think have the spatial awareness of others.”

The former Williams driver added: “So, actually you prefer fighting hard against the great drivers because you know that they’re going to be able to control their car better and place it in hard positions but not dangerous positions comparing with somebody who maybe isn’t at the same level as the best.”

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Asked to expand on his comments ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix winner would not name names.

Instead he said, as per RacingNews365, “It was something taken a little bit out of context when asked how it was racing with Max and if he is less aggressive and whether I enjoy racing with him or not.

“I said I enjoy racing, or more comfortable racing the very best guys in the business, more so than some of the others who don’t have the spatial awareness of the greatest ones on the grid.

“Every single driver on this grid is an extremely talented driver and everyone has won in their respective categories on their journey.

“But clearly, there are two or three drivers who are a cut above the rest.”