George Russell: Mercedes ‘couldn’t afford to play it safe’ in British GP tyre gamble

George Russell has admitted that Mercedes’ lack of car pace forced him to avoid conservative tyre strategies during a chaotic British Grand Prix.

Russell was one of five drivers to come into the pit lane before the start of the race for slick tyres.

Russell, Charles Leclerc, Isack Hadjar, Ollie Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto all switched to dry tyres early on.

It didn’t work out for any of them as the track was too wet.

Still, Russell was in the hunt for points when the various pit stops and strategies played out.

Russell was also one of the first drivers to come in for dry tyres again for the final stop of the race.

Again, it was too early and Russell lost out.

Reflecting on Mercedes’ strategy calls, Russell told Sky Sports: “It was a 50-50 call, at the beginning of the 25 minutes of rain. But we spent 15 minutes behind a Virtual Safety Car.

“We got going and were five seconds a lap faster than the inters runners, but then the rain came. In hindsight, it’s easy to say we risked too much.

“The last pitstop I probably went too early. I risked too much. I wasn’t expecting the hard tyre. A terrible day. It hurts me a lot to have a day like that here at my home grand prix.

“If we played conservatively we probably would have been P3, P4 or P5 which is better than where we ended up. But it wasn’t what we were going for.”

Russell: Easier to play it safe with a quicker car

Russell starred in qualifying, securing fourth on the grid, having struggled for pace relative to the other top three teams.

The British driver feels that it’s easier to be conservative if you have the inherent car pace, like McLaren do.

“The track is six kilometres long. At some points it was bone dry but two corners were soaking wet,” he explained.

“Those are the corners you might go round five seconds slower than the inters tyres, but you’re going around the rest of the track five seconds quicker.

“It’s not easy. Play it safe and you get a safe result. We went big.

“If there was no VSC at the beginning and we had 25 minutes clear, maybe everyone on the slicks would have been in the lead and you’d say it was an amazing decision.

“We can’t plan for a VSC. We planned for 25 minutes of dry running and I believe the dry tyre was the best. But we got 10 minutes.

“Obviously I am very disappointed. If you’ve got the car pace you can afford to play it safe, and it doesn’t matter what you do because you’ll come out on top.

“If you don’t, it’s so tight between everybody else now. If you want a good result you need to be brave. It’s as brave to stay out and not put, as it is to pit.”