© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
At the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race, George Russell was the first driver to switch to slick tyres, which ultimately allowed him to finish in P8.
During the wet Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race, George Russell was the first driver to switch to slick tyres. This allowed him to ultimately finish in P8 (after starting from P15).
After the race, the Briton was asked if this was his or the team’s decision?
“Definitely combination,” Russell said.
“For me, it was definitely slicks and I said the lap before, if this was qualifying, I would be pitting now.
“The thing you don’t know as a driver is 13 laps to go, are you going to be able to recover all the positions.
“I was sort of happy to make my decision, and it is always challenging when you are in the slipstream of cars, there is still a lot of spray, even when the track is semi-dry.
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“So you are trying to judge, is it dry? Is that the spray coming from proper wetness on the track? Or dampness? Or is it just sweat?
“Yes, there you go,” George said with a smile.
The ‘sweat’ comment was a reference to the Spanish Grand Prix where George thought it started raining, but it was actually just his own sweat.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff praised George for his call to switch to soft tyres.
“It was a perfect call,” Wolff said.
“I thought it was a lap too early but we had nothing to lose, so a brilliant call,” he concluded.
