'I was angry'- George Russell fumes at Mercedes' big strategic blunder at the Brazilian GP

Mercedes team driver George Russell lost his chance to win the Brazilian Grand Prix after the team's huge blunder in Pit stop strategy which made him eventually lose the podium place. The pit stop call became unlucky for George Russell as he lost his lead in the race. The Mercedes driver initially qualified second next to his fellow countryman Lando Norris in a wet qualifying session. He snatched the lead in the first corner of the race and was in full control after that keeping the fast-moving McLaren behind in heavy rain for almost 30 laps.

The wet weather conditions and No DRS option have given him the advantage to lead Lando Norris. When Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg went off the track Virtual Safety car (VSC) was brought in. During that time most of the drivers went to the pits and changed to fresh intermediate tyres. McLaren and the Mercedes team called Lando and george only after a lap. During that time VSC was called off and the two lost the lead positions to Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen who remained on the track. 

George after crossing the line...

he thanked the people in the garage and back at base for the past weeks, but didn't say anything about the race. pic.twitter.com/fe6PNTSDGe

— h ⋆ ⁶³ (@russellius) November 3, 2024

Unfortunately, Williams driver Franco Colapinto crashed at the main straight which brought Red Flags and all drivers went to the pits and without losing any time changed their tyres. George and Lando Became unlucky after the restart as Max Verstappen was unstoppable in the rain and he won the race. If they had stayed one more lap on the track they would have started in front at the restart and ended up in the podiums. The team's strategic blunder has cost them the race win.

Also Read: 'I don't see British here'- Max Verstappen takes a jibe at media after spectacular win in Brazil GP

Russell is not at all happy

After the race, George Russell was fuming over his team's strategic calls. He said, “Well, my take is if we’d stayed out, we would have been first at the restart ahead of Ocon, Max and Gasly. Leading from the front is much easier. Where we could have ended up, I don't know, but I was pretty angry at the time because I wanted to stay out.”

Russell felt that leading the first 30 laps and then ending up in P4 was the worst-ever result for him. The Brit said, “It was very challenging, but we were comfortable. In those first 30 laps, everything was under control. We had a 12-second gap to P3, just managing my gap with Lando.

Obviously, those three laps were very, very difficult in the middle, and that's why I wanted to stay because I felt very confident this would go Safety car or a Red Flag. Inevitably, it did because it was undriveable.” Max Verstappen showed one of the best-ever mastery of racing in rain at the Sao Paulo circuit. He won the race and extended his lead over Lando Norris and there are still 3 races left in the calendar.

Also Read:‘The Flying Dutchman’: How Max Verstappen Defied the Odds to Win Brazil GP - Explained