George Russell agreed to give up his second place to Kimi Antonelli in the final laps of the Dutch Grand Prix. The Briton believes that his teammate would have overtaken him anyway thanks to his fresher tires.
Read more Kimi Antonelli greets Russell after the Mercedes instruction at Zandvoort
George Russell could probably have hoped for better after winning the sprint race on Saturday at Zandvoort. Starting second in the Dutch Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver ultimately had to settle for third place on the podium behind Lando Norris and his teammate Kimi Antonelli.
His race was notably marked by a team order in the final laps. After a virtual safety car, Antonelli made an additional pit stop and found himself behind Russell, who was second with much more worn hard tires.
Mercedes then asked the Briton to let the championship leader pass to allow him to try to catch Norris. A decision that Russell considers perfectly logical after the race.
Russell loses a place right at the start
Russell’s race had started difficultly. Second on the grid alongside Norris, he missed his start and immediately saw Antonelli take the advantage.
“It was a difficult start for me, obviously, since I lost a position” admits Russell.
The Briton then settled in third position for a long time, while Antonelli and Norris fought for the lead of the race.
“Those two were very fast at the beginning, then Lando was exceptionally fast towards the end of the race.”
However, different strategies reshuffled the cards in the final laps.
Mercedes asks Russell to let Antonelli pass
A virtual safety car caused by Esteban Ocon’s immobilization offered a strategic opportunity to Mercedes. Antonelli went back to the pits to put on new soft tires, while Russell stayed on track.
The Briton thus temporarily regained second position, but with much older hard tires than his teammate.
With six laps to go, Mercedes decided to swap their drivers. Russell received the order to let Antonelli pass so that the Italian could try to close the roughly eleven seconds gap still separating him from Norris.
Read more Lando Norris refuses to get carried away despite his return to the title race
A decision that could have been difficult to accept since the two Mercedes drivers are also rivals in the championship.
“Kimi was ahead of me before, so he deserved to finish ahead” Russell nevertheless admits.
“Obviously, when you’re racing, you want to fight for every position. But with his new tires, he would have overtaken me anyway. So it was the right decision.”
Hamilton puts Russell under pressure
The consequence of this swap was nevertheless far from trivial for Russell. After letting Antonelli pass, he found himself directly under threat from Lewis Hamilton.
The Ferrari driver, also equipped with fresher tires, quickly caught up with his former Mercedes and launched an attack at the first corner a few laps from the finish.
Russell managed to resist and ultimately kept his third position until the checkered flag.
“It was difficult to hold on with these old tires. I’m happy to be on the podium because it could have gone either way.”
A podium that does Russell good
This team order also has consequences in the championship. After reducing his gap thanks to his sprint win, Russell finally leaves Zandvoort 59 points behind Antonelli.
But after several more complicated weekends before the summer break, the Briton prefers to focus on the positive aspects of his stay in the Netherlands.
“I’m just happy to be on the podium. It had been a little while for me and, overall, it was a solid weekend.”
With a win in the sprint, a second place on the grid, and a podium in the Grand Prix, Russell has indeed found the front ranks again at Zandvoort. Now he has to confirm this momentum at Monza.
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