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Shovlin: 'When Verstappen pitted, he was sure he wanted to do the same'

Shovlin: 'When Verstappen pitted, he was sure he wanted to do the same'

29-09-2021 07:59 Last update: 10:06
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GPblog.com

Lewis Hamilton looked set to finish behind Lando Norris at the Russian Grand Prix until rain disrupted the entire race. The world champion's crucial switch to intermediate tyres, which ultimately allowed him to win the GP, was in part due to Valtteri Bottas' earlier switch and Max Verstappen's pit stop.

"The most important thing was how you interpreted the weather forecasts. As you know, all the teams have the same rainfall radar. We could see the rain coming and we could see that it would start light. After that it would get heavier and that's what we reacted to," Andrew Shovlin, head of trackside engineering at Mercedes, explained to Autosport.

"In a way, our decision was helped by the fact that Valtteri was driving out of the points and had nothing to lose so we dared to take the plunge. When we saw how the tyres worked on his car, we then quickly followed with Lewis. Not leading the race made it a bit easier to make that decision," said Shovlin.

Pit stop Max played a big part

Hamilton had also been called in by Mercedes a lap earlier, but that request was ignored as the Briton was convinced the slicks were the best tyres. However, when Max Verstappen came in for the intermediates his opinion quickly changed.

"The main point we wanted to make clear to him was that Max had stopped. When that happened, Lewis was sure he wanted to do the same: even if it meant Lando taking the win."