A series of strategic errors for Mercedes at Silverstone

One point for consolation. This Sunday at Silverstone, Mercedes experienced a nightmarish race, marred by a series of strategic errors, and leaves Great Britain with only one point thanks to George Russell’s tenth place.

And yet, the weekend had started well. Unlike Austria, the cooler temperatures seemed to favor the Silver Arrows. This observation was reflected during the qualifying session with Russell securing a superb 4th place, less than two-tenths of a second off the pole position won by Max Verstappen. His teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli had clinched 7th place before being demoted three places for colliding with the Dutchman in the first lap in Austria.

A risky choice right from the formation lap

Unfortunately, all hopes for a good result vanished even before the start of the Grand Prix. As early as the formation lap, the track began to dry. Russell, just like Charles Leclerc, then took a gamble by fitting slick tires at the end of this lap. A decision that Toto Wolff, director of Mercedes, called terribly bad.

« Well, the driver is part of the team. We are all in this together. But the first call, or the first decision, both from the car and from the pit wall, was terribly bad. It made us go from bad to worse, because it triggered Kimi’s pit stop. When you see where Kimi was on the track, we should have just left him out there with a different strategy, and we would have probably finished where Nico Hülkenberg finished [3rd], because Kimi was ahead of him. I think we all had an honest discussion up there, and everyone recognizes that the first decision was actually the most catastrophic. »

A failed but accepted decision by Russell

And unfortunately, the mistakes didn’t stop there. Mercedes also poorly anticipated tire degradation. Russell and Antonelli were among the few who opted for hard tires, thinking that the mediums wouldn’t go the distance. The result: white compounds that were difficult to warm up, a glaring lack of grip, and even a spin for Russell.

If the last winner of the Canadian Grand Prix scores only one point at the finish, he was keen to defend the decision to stop early, explaining that the strategy could have worked without the intervention of the virtual safety car.

« I think stopping right at the beginning was not a stupid decision, as it was dry for 25 minutes. What we didn’t know was that there would be 15 minutes of virtual safety car. When it ended, we had a five-second per lap advantage over those on intermediates. If only we had a full stint in these conditions, maybe we would have gotten back to the front. But when it rains, it really rains, and everything went against us. »

An expected rebound at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Briton doesn’t blame his team either, believing that in such difficult conditions, a gamble was necessary. « In our position, if we play it safe, we end up with a sure result. Of course, it probably would have been 4th place. Would I, now, have preferred to finish 4th? Of course. But we wanted to be bold; we wanted to be brave. We made daring choices, and in the end, we paid for it. »

The Brackley team will have the opportunity to make amends at Spa-Francorchamps and why not achieve a similar performance in 2024 when the team won thanks to Lewis Hamilton. Russell, on his side, will surely want to take his revenge on this circuit after being disqualified last year when he crossed the finish line in first place. See you in three weeks for the Belgian Grand Prix, which will also feature a new sprint race.