George Russell might not have stood on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, but Mercedes' strategic call for him became one of the most intriguing storylines from the race at Madring. Deputy team principal Bradley Lord has shed light on the reasoning behind the two-stop strategy that set Russell apart from his rivals up front.
The race at Madring was tight. Overtaking was nearly impossible, and the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) that emerged at the end of lap 14 reshuffled the deck. Russell, who started on hard tyres from sixth, had initially planned a one-stop. However, the VSC timing worked against George Russell.
“The VSC worked very differently for George, it fell at the worst possible time for him given that he'd started the race on hards and was looking to run long,” Lord explained. “He headed into the race starting on the hard tyre from P6 with a plan to do a one-stop. When the VSC came out he was the second car running on the hard tyre behind Leclerc's Ferrari. Therefore we called for George to do a ‘box opposite to Leclerc’.”
That call was made because leaving Russell out would have meant simply following Charles Leclerc to the finish. The undercut opportunity was minimal, and overtaking cars on similar-age tyres was nearly impossible. Mercedes switched to mediums, knowing they wouldn't last 43 laps. Russell did a 20-lap stint on mediums before returning to hards.
The strategy paid off. Russell delivered an impressive performance, pressuring Leclerc. “George then unleashed some really impressive performance. He was going quick enough that he actually pulled Leclerc into the pits probably earlier than Ferrari had wanted to, gave Kimi the free air up front but also then George was pressuring Leclerc in those final laps on that soft tyre that was quite fragile, and actually ended the race only 0.7 seconds behind,” Lord added.
The decision was also influenced by the position of Kimi Antonelli, Russell's teammate and championship leader. With the VSC falling favorably, Antonelli seized the moment to take victory after Norris was eliminated from contention. “It's an example of how one team's strategy can impact another,” Lord said.
Russell himself was pragmatic. He acknowledged that regardless of the strategy, the result would likely have been P5 given the difficulty of overtaking at Madring. “After the race George was very pragmatic, he said he didn't really think it mattered what we'd have done, whether we'd have left him out or boxed him, he was always likely to finish in P5,” Lord concluded.
With this result, Mercedes can still smile. Antonelli leads the championship, and Russell showed that with the right strategy, he can still compete at the front even from a less-than-ideal starting position. The Spanish Grand Prix may not have been a perfect weekend for Russell, but Mercedes proved they are not afraid to take risks.
Baca Juga
Mercedes jelaskan strategi dua stop George Russell di F1 Spanyol. Keputusan box opposite to Leclerc di bawah VSC jadi kunci performa impresifnya.
Ferrari dilanda krisis empat balapan tanpa podium. Simak analisis penyebabnya: pengembangan aerodinamika, defisit mesin, dan kesalahan strategi.
Ocon finis ke-11 di GP Spanyol, Haas kecewa gagal poin. Audi pangkas jarak di klasemen konstruktor. Simak analisis lengkapnya.
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