Due to a late additional pit stop, George Russell of Mercedes lost the intra-team race against Lewis Hamilton.
Russell began the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday from sixth on the grid, and it appeared he would finish there as well—until the team brought him in for a late tire change.
George Russell I had been ahead of Lewis Hamilton all weekend.
As the two entered the race with the identical tire strategy, Russell had led teammate Lewis Hamilton throughout the first three-quarters of the race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. During the middle stint of the race, Russell held a lead of up to nine seconds on the road.
Russell made the switch from the medium to the hard tyre on lap 21, and Hamilton did the same on lap 27.
When the race was coming to an end and the seven-time F1 World Champion having newer tires than Russell, he started to cut into Russell’s lead and had cut it to 3.7 seconds before Mercedes pulled Russell in for a new set of tires.
Russell entered the race on Lap 53 and overcame a worn set of mediums to reach the finish line; nevertheless, this maneuver allowed Hamilton to move up in position with ease. Russell was somewhat comforted by the fact that he had recorded the fastest lap of the race and earned a point for it.
Russell gave his explanation of the decision after the race, having lost to Hamilton as a result of the extra stop.
“As a driver, you want to finish [in] the highest position possible and I’d been ahead of my team-mate all weekend,” Russell said to the press following the checkered flag, as reported by PlanetF1.com.
“I had a comfortable lead throughout the entire race, so losing the position seemed pointless at that point.”
We now have the additional point, but as I previously stated, I won’t be whining about it tonight. It’s not for a podium or a win; it’s P6.
According to Toto Wolff, Mercedes was analyzing data during the race that indicated Russell wouldn’t be able to finish the Grand Prix comfortably on the hard tire. As a result, Russell decided to go safe rather than risk being passed by Sergio Perez.
“After the race, our wear forecasts indicated that George might find it difficult to finish on the hard tire,” the Mercedes team manager informed reporters, including PlanetF1.com.
