George Russell: I understand the stewards' point of view.

      Not only Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz were unhappy with the decisions of the stewards at the Dutch Grand Prix, but George Russell was as well — the Mercedes driver has his own view of the incident involving Charles Leclerc that occurred on lap 32 of that race, which the stewards left without consequences.

      George Russell: "To be fair, the stewards didn't have the ability to determine exactly whether Leclerc's car was off the track. It wasn't visible on the video footage, and photographers didn't capture that episode either, but I had no doubt because I knew that even my car was on the white line.

      But I understand their point of view, although now we've seen images that clearly show Charles' Ferrari was off the track. In general, I don't think it makes sense to ask for any clarifications. The decisions can be correct, but sometimes the stewards don't have the full set of information.

      I hope in Monza we'll have the chance to perform better than in the previous few races. We realistically know what to expect in the remaining races of the season — from third place on a good day to sixth on a bad one. That's roughly our range, but I hope we'll still be closer to the podium."

      Russell was also asked why his contract with Mercedes for next year has still not been confirmed.

      "As I've said, we want to make sure everything is done properly," George replied. "We're negotiating to find the right balance, because Formula 1 these days has become a very complex sport. We don't just race on Sundays 24 times a year, we also take part in a lot of different promotions and events.

      Basically, we're trying to find the right balance that suits both Mercedes and me, and there's no rush. By the right balance I mean the proper allocation of time spent on racing, on working with the engineers — and I feel I haven't worked with them enough and haven't spent enough time on the simulator. And that's because I've been occupied with other activities that don't have a direct relation to racing.

      There are no particular problems, the negotiation process is going in the right direction, but right now the weekend in Monza is more important to us."