George Russell aware of podium chance: "It's a missed opportunity

George Russell has had an up and down race, finishing on a high by earning his 10th top five finish this season with a fourth place in the Austrian GP. However, the Briton knows that his five second penalty received for the first lap incident greatly affected his race and potentially missed a chance to get on the podium.

"With the way the race ended, it's a missed opportunity from my side, it's very frustrating to have the first lap incident. I braked afterwards, I braked hard and Checo had the clean line. As soon as we started the corner, I knew we would make contact," the Mercedes driver told Sky Sports.

He then added how the penalty and the damage received from the accident totally affected his race: "I was already at the limit of my car. so the damage also probably cost me ten seconds in the first stint.

"Then having a 20-second pit stop, coming off P17 and having to overtake all these cars. In hindsight, it's okay, but I felt like I expected more," he continued.

The Briton also expressed how the damage had a big effect on his pace until he changed his front wing: "I had damage to the left side of my front wing. It felt much better (when it was changed), but also much more downforce. It probably cost me a second a lap. I didn't feel as fast as I had hoped."

He also expressed how the upgrades were hit and miss this year and is something to keep an eye on for future races. "When we brought an upgrade to Barcelona, we took a big step forward and got back to reality. Then we went to Silverstone with a number of updates and that was a circuit that suited our car," he explained.

He finished by stating, "I took a look at the data before coming here and we were on the same pace as Lewis. Here we were not so fast. The next two races will be tight, but as a team we are not yet in a position to fight against those two (Ferrari and Red Bull).