Mercedes Chief Slams “Worst Decision Ever” After George Russell Fiasco

George Russell did not have the best of races at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. However, he was still able to finish in the points. With Hamilton finishing in P5, the team was able to secure a good haul of points.

However, Russell was not pleased with the decision of the team to not call him in. If they had boxed him, it would mean a double-stack for the team. Now, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has given his thoughts on Russell’s comments about the team’s strategy call.

Russell said after the Grand Prix, “That was the worst decision we made.”

He went on, “I probably could have fought for P5. We need to review what went on. I was right behind Lewis and double-stacking, I was just going to lose all the positions.”

Shovlin seems to agree with the Brit. “We’ve gone through all the timing of that and we’ve concluded no, it wasn’t the right decision. We should have done what George was asking, which was to give him the lap in clean air.”

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George Russell could not finish the Japanese Grand Prix where he would’ve liked to. However, the Brit still thoroughly enjoyed the race. After the race, he spoke about why the race was so enthralling for him.

George Russell finds the ‘silver lining’ at rain-interrupted Japanese Grand Prix

According to the Brit, he could’ve fought for positions higher up the grid. However, due to a strategy call that stunted his progress, he could only manage an 8th-place finish. But after the race, he was still in high spirits. He explains why.

While speaking to the media after the race, he said, “That was the silver lining, that was enjoyable and fun” while talking about all the overtakes.

However, he went on to explain why the race was one of his toughest. “But it was truly a race of tire management. It was probably the most amount of tire management I’ve ever done in a F1 race, considering it being wet, it’s pretty surprising.”

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Can Mercedes bag a win before 2022 ends?