George Russell has explained the “mind-boggling” pace during the
São Paulo Grand Prix, after a shocking race for Mercedes. Team
Principal Toto Wolff branded it an “inexcusable” result after both
Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton fell through the top 10
throughout the 71-lap event. Russell was stuck Hamilton in sixth
during the opening stages before being easily overtaken by Red
Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Alpine’s Pierre
Gasly had also overtaken Russell before Mercedes eventually elected
to retire him due to high power unit oil temperatures. “A
mind-boggling weekend to understand,” Russell told media including
RacingNews365 . “I had relatively high expectations coming into
this weekend and just absolutely no pace at all.” Russell: It’s the
same car as the last five races The Mercedes suffered from high
tyre degradation throughout the race, with Hamilton’s Medium tyres
visibly worn after 10 laps following his first pit stop. “It’s the
same car as the last five races, so clearly we got something wrong
with the tyres,” explained Russell. “During the Sprint weekend when
you get it wrong, you can’t make amends to those issues. “We made
the decision to run a bit more downforce and when you run more
downforce you’re meant to gain through the corners and keep the
tyres under control. “That wasn’t the case, so we didn’t have the
benefit we only had the negative.”
Source: Read More