George Russell experienced a frustrating weekend in Monaco. During the qualifiers, he couldn’t get past Q2 due to engine problems, which meant the Brit started the race in fourteenth place. A day later, Russell found himself stuck behind Alexander Albon for a long time, thanks to Williams’ special tactics. Russell joked afterwards that Albon owed him a dinner. As said, so done. The Williams driver now reveals how that dinner went.
After a disappointing qualification on the streets of Monte Carlo, George Russell found himself stuck behind Alexander Albon’s rear wing a day later. The Brit became the victim of Williams’ tactics, where Albon held up the entire field so that teammate Carlos Sainz could make a ‘free’ pit stop. At one point, however, Russell had had enough and cut off the British-Thai driver at the Nouvelle Chicane. The Mercedes driver received a drive-through penalty for his action.
After the race, Williams had already apologized to Mercedes for their tactical play, and Albon even took George Russell out for dinner as a peace offering. The driver now reveals how the dinner with his British colleague went. “(Russell) ordered the most expensive item on the menu. It was the lobster pasta,” Albon candidly tells Formula1.com. “I had the carbonara, and to be honest, I wanted to play it that way, but it was wagyu carbonara, which I’ve never had before. But he did miss dessert, so it was kind of a draw.”
Crowdfunding
The dinner did end up costing Albon quite a bit. “Yes, it was pasta, but it was lobster pasta, in Monaco. Monaco is not cheap. You can’t really eat out there. During race weekends, they raise the prices everywhere.” The driver then joked that he might set up a crowdfunding campaign for the dinner. “Maybe I will, yes. I mean, George is negotiating, right? Maybe after the decision, he’ll pay the bill next time!” Albon refers to Russell’s contract negotiations with Mercedes.
The same Russell joked at the FIA press conference that for him, the bill has not yet been settled. “Not expensive enough!” the Mercedes driver said about his lobster pasta. “So the bill is definitely not settled yet.”
