Weasel Words: Part 4

 
 
POSTED: April 20, 2021
 
 
 
 
 

According to The Guardian, “George Russell has issued a full apology to Valtteri Bottas after confronting him in the wake of their crash at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.

The British driver had been admonished for the incident and for his subsequent comments by the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, and Russell, who is a Mercedes junior driver and hopeful of being given a seat with the team in future, has attempted to ease tensions with Mercedes.”

What he actually said:

Sunday wasn’t my proudest day. I knew it would be one of the best opportunities to score points this season and, when these points matter as much as they do to us right now, sometimes you take risks. It didn’t pay off and I have to take responsibility for that.

Having had time to reflect on what happened afterwards, I know I should have handled the whole situation better. Emotions can run high in the heat of the moment and mine got the better of me. I apologise to Valtteri, my team, and anyone who felt let down by my actions. That’s not who I am and I expect more from myself, as I know others expect from me.
I have learned some tough lessons this weekend and will come out of this a better driver and a better person for the experience.

I mention this because George Russell has now become one of those people who knows that “That’s not who I am”.