Former System 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Mercedes compromised George Russell’s possibilities on the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, arguing that a very aggressive pit technique put the British driver in a tough place.
Russell began the race from pole place, nevertheless it was Lewis Hamilton 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 Ferrari.
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 referred to as Russell within the following lap however saved him on a two-stop technique.
“What actually stunned 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 tough state of affairs as a result of on the finish of the race, they needed to do over 30 laps on the final set of tyres.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
“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’d have carried out that, it will have been a lot tougher for Lewis to work as a result of once they stopped, everyone 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’ve such a excessive degradation… If you consider it, if in case you have two-tenths a lap degradation and he was increased and your team-mate stops 4 laps later, that is eight tenths a lap. Sure, you open a little bit of a spot initially, nevertheless it simply makes it exhausting.”
Russell completed second behind Hamilton, scoring 18 factors.
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