F1 News
Russell wants to investigate Mercedes strategy: "Need to understand why"
George Russell believes he would've finished the Mexico Grand Prix on the podium had he held onto P2 at the end of the first lap. The Brit started from P2 ahead of his teammate, but made a small mistake and dropped behind Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton.
Russell finished the race in fourth place and therefore still helped Mercedes gain on Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship. On the team radio, Russell was very vocal about the Mercedes tyre choice. He suggested that the team should pit him again, but Mercedes wanted to wait in case Perez picked up more degradation in the closing stages.
Questions to be asked
In his post-race interview with Viaplay, Russell highlighted where he thinks he lost the podium spot. He explains why he ran heavily over the kerbs in turns two and three.
"I was cautious at turn one with Lewis [Hamilton] on the inside, ultimately that cost me two positions. Had I ended lap one in P2, we would've finished on the podium," Russell said. The Mercedes driver wanted to understand why his team opted for the wrong strategy whereas Ferrari and Red Bull followed each other.
"We need to understand why Red Bull and Ferrari thought starting on the soft was right, and we didn't. We couldn't get the hard working. Really proud of the job that the team are doing. Red Bull are still in a league of their own, but looking at our pace compared to Ferrari it's impressive," Russell concluded.