Russell admits guilt over pair of F1 Sprint penalties

George Russell has conceded he was fully at fault for the two penalties that he was handed on Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas.

The Mercedes was first found guilty of impeding Charles Leclerc during Sprint Qualifying and was issued a three-place grid penalty for the race.

It meant that he was forced to line up in 11th, but his day got worse when he overtook Oscar Piastri off the track.

Russell was deemed to have gained a lasting advantage and was hit with a five-second time penalty that shuffled him from seventh to eighth at the chequered flag.

“Definitely a scrappy day - in the stewards [office], twice,” Russell told media including RacingNews365.com. “Both were fair penalties, neither were intentional.

Reflecting on the incident with Leclerc, Russell revealed that he thought the Ferrari driver was on an out-lap rather than pushing.

As for his in-race scrap with Piastri, Russell conceded that he was too ambitious with his attempt to overtake the McLaren.

“I think it's fair, it was always optimistic. He had his right to push me off.

“I went for it just thinking 'if he was being kind I would have got the position'.”

Russell confident over Grand Prix chances

Russell followed Ferrari's Carlos Sainz for much of the 19-lap race but couldn't get past the Spaniard, who was equipped with Soft tyres.

“In the end, it was a shame I couldn't get past Carlos,” said the Briton.

“He was just too quick in the corners that matter compared to us but we're in a strong place for tomorrow starting P5. We've got a good chance to fight for a podium.

“A fight, it's going to be with probably with Lando [Norris].”