Mercedes conceded that the decision to overrule George Russell and make a pit stop right before the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix was red-flagged was a mistake.
Starting on the front row, Russell claimed the lead from polesitter Lando Norris and then headed the McLaren throughout the opening stint as the top two pulled clear.
Despite Russell’s reluctance, Mercedes and McLaren chose to haul their drivers into the pits to switch to fresh Intermediates on Lap 28 as the conditions deteriorated.
However, this would transpire to be an ill-timed call as Franco Colapinto’s crash on Lap 32 triggered a stoppage that allowed those who had not pitted to change tyres.
Russell thus ended up in fourth place behind the three cars – Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and the two Alpine drivers – who had retained track position under the red flag.
The Briton made his irritation at squandering a podium clear post-race as he lamented having not trusted his instinct as he had done earlier this campaign in Belgium.
Mercedes explains pit stop timing in Brazil
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin has revealed how the timing of a Virtual Safety Car held a critical role in the side committing to that pit stop.
“I think with hindsight, you would manage most races differently,” Shovlin acknowledged. “But certainly, in this case, we would have done.
“One of the key things is once they announced that the VSC was ending, we had a very, very short window, only a second or two, where we could have got George to stay out on track.
“The reason you would have done that is by that point, you are going to suffer a full pit loss anyway.
“You may as well stay out and just gamble on the fact that it was quite likely someone would have a crash, as happened, and that they are forced to red flag it.
“Prior to that, stopping to us made sense, because given that Lando was coming in, George was able to do that.
“He would have still been ahead of all those cars that stayed out. But you get the benefit of fresh rubber in case they do not call it as a red flag.
“Normally, we try not to assume that there is going to be a red flag, because sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong.
“If there is a Safety Car and you decide to stay out, assuming a red flag, if you do not get it, you are in trouble.
“But obviously, the cars that did stay out, that gamble worked for them, and they ended up in prime position.”
READ MORE – Russell rues not ‘trusting my gut’ on ill-timed Mercedes pit call in F1 Brazil GP
