GEORGE RUSSELL apologised to his Mercedes team for an “ugly race” as he scuppered pole position to Max Verstappen.

It was a tough day in the office for the British 26-year-old who fought back tears after the race as he had to settle for third place.

George Russell fought back tears after blowing pole positionCredit: Getty

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It was a wet race in CanadaCredit: Getty
Meanwhile Verstappen overcame chaos and rain to toast his third consecutive win in Canada ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in second.

Russell, who claimed his first podium of the year. said: “It was an ugly race on my behalf. Sorry for that. I’m very sorry for that.

“It felt like a missed opportunity. We were really quick on the inters at the beginning, then Lando came through.

“Then we jumped back on the slicks. I made a couple of mistakes out there, pushing the limits and paid the price for it.

“Nevertheless, first podium of the year. We truly had a fast car this weekend and to be in the mix fighting for victory was really fun.”

The race was jam-packed with action fresh off the back of Monaco which Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton slammed for being a snooze fest after there had been no overtakes from the top ten drivers.

Verstappen said: “It was a pretty crazy race. I love it. That was a lot of fun. Those kinds of races, you need those once in a while.”

Russell crawled off the line in his Mercedes at the start but just stayed in front of Max Verstappen by a whisker.