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Two-time Formula 1 champion Mika Häkkinen talks about George Russell’s Mercedes debut and the team’s pit stop mix-up.
George Russell had little time to prepare after he got the call to replace Lewis Hamilton for the Sakhir Grand Prix. Former McLaren Mercedes driver Mika Häkkinen had no doubt that the young Briton would deliver a good performance.
“I knew that George Russell would perform well for Mercedes because he is a talented, experienced driver and this was a fantastic opportunity,” wrote the Finn in his Unibet column.
“In common with Valtteri Bottas he is a former GP3 Champion, in George’s case going on to win the Formula 2 title, before following in Valtteri’s footsteps into Williams.
“Williams does not currently have a competitive car, but they remain a good team, with ‘big team’ mentality, systems and processes. They also use the same Mercedes Benz power unit, so from my point of view the step from a Williams to Mercedes is not as big a jump as some imagine.
“Of course the Mercedes car is a lot quicker, and George did a great job in practice to get on top of it. I know from my own experience that when you have been driving an uncompetitive car, as was the case with Team Lotus in 1991 and 1992, you cannot wait to jump into something quick and show what you can do.
“People still ask me about my first drive for McLaren, when I out qualified Ayrton Senna in Portugal 1993, but I can tell you I was so happy to finally have a quick car, driving flat out was no problem at all!
“With Valtteri doing exactly what was required to qualify on pole, and George starting 2nd, this looked very much like a Mercedes’ race.
“The only real threat, as usual, came from Max Verstappen who had looked really good on long runs during Friday, but that first lap accident caused by Charles Leclerc eliminated both the Red Bull and Ferrari on the spot.”
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However as we all know it was not to be. A pit stop mix-up, combined with a tyre puncture destroyed both Valtteri Bottas’ and George Russell’s race.
“Whatever way we look at it, this race was heading for a Mercedes 1-2 until lap 60, and the decision to ‘double stack’ the pit stop was the right one as soon as the team saw Jack Aitken’s accident in the Williams produce a Safety Car.
“Although the Mercedes cars had a big lead, the team wanted to take advantage of having a ‘free’ pit stop.
“The tyre mechanics in Formula 1 have a tough job to do. Making sure the right sets of tyres are available at the right time and place, at the right temperature and pressure, no matter what happens.
“We have seen mistakes before – such as in 2016 when Daniel Ricciardo lost the Monaco Grand Prix due to the tyre not being ready during a critical pit stop – and it only requires one mistake.
“The miscommunication which resulted in George’s car being fitted with two of Valtteri’s tyres, and then Valtteri being returned to the track on the same set of used hard-compound tyres, was a combination of things.
“Technology not working exactly the way it needed to, and a team under pressure to make a quick decision. It is so easy to miscommunicate over the radio systems, especially if one channel – such as the driver’s channel – takes priority over another.
“I cannot tell you how many times I have had radio communication problems, including while leading a race. Normally you have time to check, double check and ask for confirmation, but on a 54 second lap such as we had in Sakhir, there was a lack of time.
“I am sure that Mercedes will learn from this experience, but it was a huge disappointment for both George and Valtteri,” concluded Häkkinen.
