Russell’s strategy call: ‘For me, it was definitely slicks’

George Russell finished in P8 in the Sprint race in Spielberg, after he had to start from 15th place on the grid thanks to a hydraulic failure in the Shootout session earlier today. Russell found the exact time to pit for softs when the track was dry enough, and his risk was good enough to finish in the points.

"Definitely combination (of the pit wall and Russell deciding the strategy), for me, it was definitely slicks and I said the lap before, if this was qualifying, I would be pitting now," Russell told Sky Sports after the Sprint race.

"The thing you don’t know as a driver is 13 laps to go, are you going to be able to recover all the positions. I was sort of happy to make my decision, and it is always challenging, when you are in the slipstream, of cars, there is still a lot of spray, even when the track is semi-dry," the Mercedes driver continued.

'Is it just sweat?'

George Russell could not escape a joke on his famous quote at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this year, while he was describing the conditions. "So you are trying to judge, is it dry, is that the spray coming from proper wetness on the track, or dampness, (...) or is it just sweat, yes, there you go," the Briton said jokingly after Naomi Schiff’s throwback to that incident in Barcelona.