Former Formulation 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes compromised George Russell’s possibilities on the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, arguing that an excessively aggressive pit technique put the British driver in a troublesome place.
Russell began the race from pole place, but it surely was who claimed the victory after pulling off a three-stop technique. The seven-time champion secured his 106th profession victory and an emotional maiden win for .
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Whereas Hamilton’s tempo within the upgraded Ferrari was formidable, Montoya feels Mercedes made an error in the way it managed Russell’s race. Based on the Colombian, the Brackley outfit pitted Russell too early.
Hamilton, on a three-stop technique, pitted on lap 12. In response, Mercedes known as Russell within the following lap however saved him on a two-stop technique.
“What actually shocked me about Mercedes is that they reacted to Lewis’s technique, however they stayed on their very own,” Montoya mentioned on F1 TV. “So, I feel they put themselves in a very troublesome scenario as a result of on the finish of the race, they needed to do over 30 laps on the final set of tyres.
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes
“So, it is like when you go right into a two-stop, you do not cease on lap 15. You must have gone to lap 21 or 22. Then, it turns into a a lot simpler race. After which if they might have accomplished that, it will have been a lot tougher for Lewis to work as a result of once they stopped, all people stopped early and prolonged these runs, that is the place they opened the technique for Lewis.”
He added: “I feel Mercedes put him in a troublesome spot by stopping him so early. He was the primary man. When you could have such a excessive degradation… If you consider it, you probably have two-tenths a lap degradation and he was greater and your team-mate stops 4 laps later, that is eight tenths a lap. Sure, you open a little bit of a niche initially, but it surely simply makes it arduous.”
Russell completed second behind Hamilton, scoring 18 factors.
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