George Russell: the system is flawed

A weekend to forget for Mercedes. Already struggling last week in Imola (seventh place for Russell, retirement for Kimi Antonelli) due to hot temperatures, the German team experienced a nightmare in the principality this time and finished the Grand Prix without scoring any points, a first since the 2024 Australian Grand Prix when both Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell had retired. The former Williams driver was very critical at the end of the Grand Prix, calling the new FIA rule “wobbly.”

Indeed, this season, all teams had to use three different sets of tires during the race (which is slightly different from the two mandatory stops), making strategies even more complex. Nonetheless, this unfortunately did not have the desired effect, and overtakes were once again rare (Bortoleto on Antonelli in the first lap and Stroll on Hülkenberg in the last lap). Some teams took advantage of having both their drivers well-placed to adopt an effective strategy: slowing down the pack with one driver to allow the driver in front to pit and come out ahead of their teammate.

Mercedes without a solution against opposing strategies

This is notably the strategy employed by Racing Bulls with Lawson, who slowed down the Williams and the Mercedes behind him to allow Isack Hadjar to make his two stops and come out ahead of them. Later in the Grand Prix, it was Williams who opted for the same strategy to the great displeasure of the Mercedes which were just behind them. After several laps stuck behind Alex Albon’s car, Russell intentionally cut the “New Chicane” corner to overtake the Williams driver on the 48th lap. The Briton then took the microphone to assert that he did it on purpose and that he preferred to take a penalty than to stay behind. This naturally caught the attention of the stewards, who decided to penalize him.

It was clear, according to the radio message where he said he would take the penalty, that the overtaking was intentional because he felt he was being slowed down by car 23, which was driving erratically. Anticipating this kind of situation, the stewards had asked the race director to inform the teams before the race that they would closely monitor any overtaking by cutting the track at turn 10. It had been specified that the usual 10-second penalty might be insufficient and that a more severe sanction could be applied, they explained in their statement. Russell was eventually penalized with a drive through, a mandatory pit stop without the ability to change tires.

A weekend spoiled by issues during the qualifications

At the finish of the race, which he completed in 11th position, the Mercedes driver was not really affected by the penalty. “I was a little surprised, but honestly, I didn’t really care because I was out of the points,” he told the media, including PlanetF1. “I didn’t get to enjoy Monaco yesterday so I said ‘whatever, I want to enjoy, attack fully on this circuit.’ It’s one of the best circuits in the world, and that’s what I did. The last 25 laps were the most fun of the weekend. I was on the limit, testing myself. Ironically, if I hadn’t done that, I would have finished 15th or 16th.”

The Brit was particularly frustrated with his qualifying on Saturday. While the weekend had started poorly for Mercedes (10th and 11th in FP3), Russell seemed to have regained confidence with his car during qualifying. However, at the end of Q1, Mercedes suffered its first blow. Rookie Kimi Antonelli hit the wall after the tobacco corner, causing significant damage to his W16. Although the Italian managed to reach Q2, he only started in 15th position. Just as the German team thought they had overcome their issues, another incident occurred. Early in Q2, Russell hit a bump, which immediately cut off the engine of his Mercedes. His car came to a stop in the tunnel, resulting in a 14th place on the grid.

From then on, the Grand Prix promised to be very complicated for the silver arrows. When you start 14th and 15th, you can’t do anything. You stop on the first lap, you finish nowhere; you stay on track, same thing. Ironically, I finished higher thanks to my maneuver with Albon than if I had done nothing. That alone proves the system is flawed.

For the first time since the 2012 United States Grand Prix, both Mercedes do not finish in the points despite completing the Grand Prix. A statistic that demonstrates the very difficult weekend experienced by the German team, which needs to quickly rebound for the next race. A reaction is expected this week in Barcelona for the eighth race of the season.