Mercedes F1 “had to try something” with slick tyre gamble

Russell had started from the pitlane after taking a new power unit under parc ferme, and during his attempt to regain ground he went up an escape road after making contact with the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and dropped back.

Given that he was at the back of the field, Russell agreed with the team’s suggestion that he try slicks, but it was evident straight away that it was too early as he almost went off at the first corner.

He was well off the pace of every other car, but having made the choice he stuck with it and began to see an improvement in pace – which eventually prompted other teams to make the switch.

He lost more ground later in the race when a collision with Mick Schumacher‘s Haas caused a puncture and led to an extra stop. Russell eventually finished 14th, having set fastest lap on his new tyres.

“Well, I was asking the pit for a new set of inters,” Russell said when asked by Motorsport.com about his early move to slicks. “And in that situation, I trust the team, the team trust me, they thought it was time to go on slicks and try something.

“I was in a position where I just thought screw it, we need to do something. F1’s very frustrating when it’s like this. But out of so many races we’ve had this year – seventeen? Fifteen of them have been pretty great. So we can’t get it right every time.

“There was a bit of confusion across the board, to be honest. So in a race like this when you’re in no man’s land, tensions are high, and you’ve just got to try something.”

Russell said that as the race unfolded things came back him: “Obviously at the time, it was totally the wrong decision. But it did pay dividends later down the line.

“Because when we had that safety car and the restart, I overtook three cars in one lap, and was up to P11 before the incident with Mick.

“So it goes both ways. We had to try something. But I think we showed we are making a lot of progress. And that gives me optimism for the rest of the year.”

Despite its worst points haul of the season, Russell was adamant that there were positives to be drawn from the weekend, stating Mercedes was at its “normal pace” following difficult rounds at Spa and Monza.

“Well, I think firstly, confidence restored that we fixed the car today,” he said. “And our normal pace was back.

“And we definitely had a car this weekend that was capable of winning. So that’s one…