© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
George Russell gives his view of Mercedes’ decision not to pit Lewis Hamilton under the Safety Car at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was catching Max Verstappen at the Dutch Grand Prix, before the Safety Car came out. Verstappen then pitted for fresh soft tyres, while Mercedes decided to leave Lewis on the track on older mediums, hoping that he will be able to keep P1 in the final laps of the race.
However, the team did pit George Russell for fresh softs, and ultimately Lewis got overtaken by Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc, finishing the race in P4. Lewis was obviously not happy and expressed his frustration to the team over the radio.
After the race team boss Toto Wolff explained Mercedes’ decisions for keeping Lewis on the track, and later George also gave his view of the situation.
“I think as a team it was incredibly difficult decision, because had we both pitted we would have conceded the position to Max,” Russell said.
“Had we both stayed out we probably both would have lost out to Max as well.
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“The best chance we as a team had of victory was splitting the cars, one to stay ahead of Max, one to stay behind and see what happened.
“If [Lewis] could have just got those tyres restarted it could have been different, but you know, it was always gonna be very, very challenging for him.
“I’m sure Lewis wanted to go for it. As a racing driver and where we are at the moment as a team, we want to win.
“We’re obviously really happy with the points, just being consistent getting them on the board, but ultimately no one remembers who finishes second in the championship.
“So we want to win a race,” the Briton concluded.
