George Russell ended the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix hoping his team finds damage from his opening corner tangle with Carlos Sainz.
The Mercedes driver slid into the sidepod of the Ferrari as the negotiated the left-hand hairpin to start the lap at the Circuit of The Americas.
It pitched Sainz into a spin, dropping the slow-starting pole-sitter from second on the road to last.
He subsequently retired with a water leak found on his car after recovering to the pits.
Russell was handed a five-second time penalty, served at his first stop, and ultimately came home in fifth, more than 30 seconds down on fourth placed Sergio Perez.
“Initially, we didn’t think there was much damage,” said the Brit.
“But I’ve got to say, it was probably the worst Sunday of my year today – I was sort of nowhere with regards to the pace.
“So I’m hoping when we look at the car there might be a bit more damage than we first expected.
“But as soon as I recognised I was outside of striking distance of Checo [Sergio Perez] and Charles [Leclerc], it was a matter of bringing the car home because we were struggling to keep it on the back stuff today.”
A late stop from Russell did inflate the deficit when he pitted for soft tyres in the final laps in an effort to claim the bonus point for the fastest lap, which he was successful in doing.
It was scant consolation for a difficult day, the saving grace being he extended his advantage over Sainz in the battle for fourth in the drivers’ championship to 16 points.
The Spaniard was critical of Russell’s driving following their clash, suggesting it wasn’t befitting of a driver starting that far up the grid.
It’s criticism that was largely accepted with the Mercedes pilot taking the blame for the crash.
“I’ve already been to see him,” Russell said.
“When I was attacking Turn 1 and I saw he was on the outside of Max, I was expecting him to try and hold it around the outside of him.
“As soon as I recognised he was trying to cut back underneath Max, I’d already committed to my braking zone. Contact was inevitable.
“But, you know, as a driver, you need to be aware of those possibilities in the car.”
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