Russell handed Alpine racer Esteban Ocon on the ultimate lap to seize fourth place on the line, however he was in the end demoted to eighth owing to a five-second penalty for a tangle with race winner Verstappen.
At half distance, Verstappen dived down the within into Flip 12 however the pair got here to blows.
With out the reprimand – which he didn’t object to, saying he was caught unawares by Verstappen – and harm from the bash, third-starting Russell reckons a podium end was on the playing cards.
Russell mentioned: “It was fairly straight ahead till the incident with Max. Simply completely did not see him within the blind spot. Wasn’t anticipating the overtake.
“I wasn’t even actually combating him as a result of we knew that Max wasn’t our race. We simply needed to preserve the tyres alive.
“It was a snug podium simply thrown away as soon as once more. So, this season is admittedly disappointing. Very irritating.”
Picture by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen, Crimson Bull Racing RB19
Verstappen appeared to come back off worse from the contact because the right-hand entrance wing endplate of his RB19 broke off, whereas Russell shed a wheel cowl. The particles resulted in a security automotive interval.
However this, Russell reckoned, may need been to his profit by serving to to regulate tyre temperatures.
He continued: “The one piece of harm was the wheel cowl, which if something, in all probability would have helped the graining by having that additional little bit of cooling.
“So, if it wasn’t for the protection automotive, we might have continued and would have gone onto the rostrum. I do not actually know what to say actually. Simply actually annoyed with as we speak.”
Whereas the cool night-time temperatures didn’t wreak havoc with the Pirellis as anticipated, Russell reckoned the tyres nonetheless turned to “rock” behind the protection automotive.
He continued: “It was actually harmful underneath the protection automotive. The tyres have been rock stable and so they have been form of colder than you’d expertise within the rain actually.”
Requested whether or not the race begin time ought to be introduced ahead for future races to keep away from related points, Russell continued: “It makes leisure, so it relies upon what we’re chasing.”