George Russell believes he should have stuck with his gut and overruled his Mercedes team when it called him to pit moments before Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix was red-flagged.
Having taken the lead into the first corner following the aborted start, which remains under investigation, Russell kept clear of polesitter Lando Norris despite the McLaren driver staying close to his rear wing during worsening conditions.
Both drivers missed the chance to pit when a virtual safety car was deployed moments after they rounded the final corner, but the pair then opted to come in soon after – just before a red flag caused by a crash for Franco Colapinto’s Williams halted the race.
That handed an immediate advantage to the three drivers who had not pitted and could fit fresh rubber before the race resumed. Max Verstappen ended his win drought despite starting 17th, while Alpine pair Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly completed the podium.
Norris bemoaned his luck with the pit call after placing sixth, while Russell felt he could have followed the example he set in Spa, where his own decision not to make a second pitstop allowed him to take the chequered flag at the Belgian Grand Prix – only to later be disqualified when his Mercedes was found to be underweight.
“Very painful all things considered, not much I want to say really,” Russell replied when asked if he had missed out on at least a podium in Brazil, having eventually placed fourth.
On the decision to pit, he explained: “It was ‘box’. I said ‘stay out’. It was ‘box’ again, it was ‘stay out’, I said. And they said ‘box’ again. As I said, ‘I want to stay out’. And then the last one, you’ve got to go for it…
“Sometimes you have to trust your gut. Last time I trusted my gut, it went down pretty well.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
“Today, who knows if we could have won the race? But if we didn’t pit, we would have been leading at the restart and the first 30 laps controlling the pace.
“With Lando behind us, we had very good straightline speed as well. P2 would have been a minimum.”
Russell believes he had a better vantage point than the Mercedes pit wall to make a decision on whether to pit or stay out.
“From a team’s perspective, it’s not obvious at all,” he added.
“From the cockpit, it was very clear it was going to be a red flag or safety car, because the conditions were undriveable. The rain was not easing. I could see the big black cloud above me.
“And then I had Shov [Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes trackside engineering director] jump on as, like, overruling my engineer to say ‘box’.
“We’re working as a team, we’re trying to make the best decisions in the time.
“Clearly the guys who didn’t pit, they finished 1-2-3 and we finished the highest of the drivers who did. So I would take a small slice of satisfaction from that.”
