George Russell finished third at the Italian Grand Prix to secure a much deserved podium finish in Monza
George Russell gave us a good reminder of the famous Schumacher-Montoya rivalry in the post-race conference at Monza. Fans were treated to a few glimpses of a brewing rivalry between Russell and Leclerc at the Italian GP. While the rivalry between Russell and Leclerc is nowhere as heated as Schumacher and Montoya, they are as competitive and skilled.
Moving into Turn 1, the Variante del Rettifilo, Leclerc and Russell battled. They battled ferociously to get the upper hand early in the race. The Brit did his best to make a move on the outside of Leclerc. It was very close. But the Monegasque maintained his calm. Leclerc could squeeze Russell for space. The Mercedes driver ended up off the chicane and into the run-off area.
In a friendly post-race banter, Russell mentioned Montoya. He said, “Yeah, it got pretty tight. (laughs) What was that quote that, was it Montoya, said (sic) in Imola, in like 2004?” It wasn’t Imola, but it was Montoya and it was 2004.
What did Russell refer to when he quoted Montoya?
Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher were great F1 drivers of their time. The Colombian drove for Williams and McLaren. He won 7 races. The German is one great of the sport. He has won 7 championships. It was a competitive and fierce rivalry between the two. At the now-defunct San Marino GP in 2004, the 2 drivers were battling for major parts of the race. With Jenson Button leading, Schumacher and Montoya wrestled for 2nd place.
At one turn, Montoya tried to overtake Schumacher. But the German was not one to relent. He used his skills to strangle him for space. The incident was later brought up in the post-race interviews. Montoya here said “Well, he said he didn’t see me. He thought I wasn’t there. So I don’t know. Forgot to look. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“You know you gotta either be blind or stupid to not see me but you know, it’s racing”, Montoya added, mocking Schumacher.
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