Russell's British GP collapse reveals the painful reality at 'unlucky' Mercedes

10:10, 09 Jul

Updated: 10:36, 09 Jul

byNorberto Mujica

George Russell's British Grand Prix was gritty and hard fought, and although the race could've gone better for him and Mercedes, he has no regrets for the strategic decisions that ultimately unraveled his home race.

At the end of the formation lap, Russell, along with Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), and Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) pitted for slick tyres. Despite the outcome, which no one could've foreseen, the Briton questions Mercedes' tyre choice.

"I wasn't expecting the hard tyre, I thought at least the medium tyre, maybe the soft tyre. It was a bit of a surprise to me when you pit early onto a damp track because the hard tyre on... I mean, we were the only drivers to do that."

"I mean at the beginning on the dry tyres I felt really strong," Russell said ultimately defending the call to media including GPblog after the race.

On the first lap Liam Lawson collided with Esteban Ocon and spun into the outside wall at Turn 5 which prompted the race to be neutralised with a Safety car.

Amid gambles, bad timing and wrong tyre choices Russell's British GP caved in

Then as the race got back underway, Gabriel Bortoleto triggered another Safety Car period which prevented him from making the gains he otherwise would have with the slick tyres.

"I felt really super quick and I do believe with no safety car we would have got back into at least the top five as a minimum."

At the end of the race, the driver of the Mercedes #63 car was lacking in pace, and his impatience came back to bite him hard with off's into the Maggotts and Becketts complex. However, when he made the call to box, he was not expecting his team to don the tyres they did on his W16.

"Then of course at the end I was a bit desperate taking the dry tyres, I was not expecting the hard, at the end I thought we would go soft or medium. Yeah in England you say when it rains, it pours. That's how today felt."

In conclusion, Mercedes still has work to do

"Luck is not on your side when the car is slow. It's as simple as that. If you have a fast car, you're always lucky and and things will always work out towards you."

"Of course there were decisions that were wrong in hindsight from every side. Was it a risk worth taking? Maybe. If you play it safe, you come home with a safe result. In our position, that's not really what excites us," Russell concluded.