George Russell’s instincts clashed with Mercedes’ orders, as Shovlin’s pit call dashed hopes for a wet-weather strategy win.
George Russell did not have the final say in his disagreement with the team over whether to return to the pits as the rain intensified. The Mercedes F1 driver wanted to stay out on the track to benefit from a potential red flag—a move that ultimately worked in favour of the three drivers who finished on the podium. Russell now regrets having been forced into the decision.
“Yes, it was very painful. They said, ‘box,’ I said, ‘stay out,’ they repeated ‘box,’ I said again that I wanted to stay out, and they insisted I box. As I said, I wanted to stay out. But in the end, you have to do it,” Russell recounted. “Sometimes, you have to trust your instincts.”
“The last time I trusted my instincts, things went rather well. Who knows if we could have won the race? But had we not made the stop, we’d have been leading at the restart, and we could have controlled the pace for the first 30 laps. With Lando behind us, we had strong straight-line speed. Second place would have been the minimum result.”
Russell revealed it was Andrew Shovlin, the trackside engineering director, who ultimately made the call to bring him in. In Toto Wolff’s absence this weekend, Shovlin was the decision-maker and team leader in São Paulo.
“From the team’s perspective, it’s not an easy call at all. From the cockpit, though, it was very clear that there would be either a red flag or a safety car because conditions were unmanageable.”
“The rain wasn’t letting up. I could see the heavy, dark cloud looming above me. And then Shov stepped in, almost overtaking my engineer, to say ‘box.’ We work as a team; we try to make the best decisions in the moment.”
“Of course, the drivers who didn’t stop finished 1-2-3, and we ended up as the highest finisher among those who did pit. So, there’s a small satisfaction in that.”
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Russell Overruled: Shovlin Orders Pit Amid Rain Gamble Russell Overruled: Shovlin Orders Pit Amid Rain Gamble
