George Russell reckons the red flag wasn’t needed in F1 Australian GP as he and Toto Wolff felt the strategy to be correct one.
An excellent drive from Russell in Melbourne came to nothing as a power unit failure derailed the Brit massively after an excellent weekend right up until that point. A front row start, he out dragged Max Verstappen and led a Mercedes 1-2 up to the point when Alex Albon crashed and left gravel on the track.
Russell opted to pit for fresh tyres when the Safety Car was deployed – with that being seemingly the correct strategy call at the time as it offered him a ‘cheaper’ stop. But a subsequent red flag eventually screwed him in terms of strategy. He wasn’t too pleased with the call certainly as Wolff tried to calm him down too.
“I thought the red flag was totally unnecessary,” said Russell. “There was obviously quite a bit of gravel on the track, but there was a clear racing line. We’ve seen it far worse in the past. It’s sort of reminiscent of the decision of last week in Saudi to bring out the safety car when the car was totally off the track”.
“So, I don’t really know what’s going on with some of the decisions at the moment. We’re all trying to work together with the FIA to improve things, but it’s seemingly a bit of a challenge,” summed up Russell. Post the re-start, he recovered to fifth but endured a firey retirement after his power unit let go.
“As soon as I came through the high speed Turns 9 and 10, I felt something go and that was it, three corners later, I was stopped – so when it’s not your day, it’s not your day, I guess,” continued Russell. “I felt really comfortable, felt strong. The pace has been great all weekend, and when you look at it, every time we’ve done something, I think we’ve maximised it”.
“We had a great qualifying, we couldn’t have been any better. The start was great, the first stint was really well managed. I could have extended that stint quite a lot, obviously Lewis was pushing really hard behind me, but seeing the tyres afterwards I would have probably been good thereafter”.
“And I see no reason why we couldn’t have probably won because, looking at the pace of Max, I’m sure he was just managing but it would have been difficult for him to pass, especially with Lewis between the two of us. So, really disappointed,” summed up Russell, who even if with no win would have possibly finished on the podium at the very least.
It was a pity and the luck of the draw. Team boss Wolff was also drawn on the matter of whether it was the right move to pit. “I think the strategy call with George was absolutely the right one, splitting the cars and I think he would have had a real go at being very much at the front, so that’s a shame,” he said.
“Both red flags, we didn’t see coming. I think restarts are great and have a great entertainment factor, but we just need to understand going forward when a red flag is being put out and what is a safety car or VSC. I think those incidents, we could have applied either.”
Mercedes were unlucky on all counts but salvaged a good second from Hamilton. They took the race to Red Bull especially at the start, even though Max Verstappen had more in the car, but it is steady steps and their main target is not Red Bull for now.
In fact, Verstappen took it careful with both Russell and Hamilton at the start considering he knows he has a fast car. “I think I was also quite careful,” he said. “I think I could have been a little bit more aggressive. But on the other hand, I didn’t want to have any damage on my car, because I knew that we had a quick car, right? So even losing one or two spots was not the end of the world.”
Here’s when the race ended for George Russell: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2023-australian-grand-prix-russell-out-of-the-race-on-lap-18-after-engine-fire.1762043427255330802.html
Here’s how George Russell took Max Verstappen at the start: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2023-australian-grand-prix-russell-and-hamilton-jump-pole-sitter-verstappen-as-leclerc-spins-out-on-the-race-start.1762039982330957997.html
Here’s F1 drivers and teams on red flag
Here’s Max Verstappen losing his reference point
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Here’s FIA asking promoters for investigation
Here’s FIA dismissing FIA protest
