F1 Austrian GP: one voice stands out by praising George Russell instead of criticizing him
Andrea Stella had words of praise for the British driver and his clever decision-making on the decisive lap under yellow flag conditions.
During qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, George Russell demonstrated excellent awareness in dealing with a late yellow flag situation. The Mercedes driver completed the lap that ultimately secured pole position, despite Max Verstappen’s crash in the closing moments of Q3 triggering a single yellow flag.
George Russell briefly lifted off the throttle before continuing and setting the fastest lap of the session. A double yellow flag, by contrast, would have automatically forced every driver passing through that section of the circuit to abandon their lap.
Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli interpreted the situation as being more serious, significantly reduced his speed and aborted his flying lap, ultimately missing the opportunity to secure a front-row start alongside George Russell.
Andrea Stella’s verdict
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised George Russell’s actions, describing them as a job well executed. According to the Italian engineer, the GPS traces clearly showed that the Mercedes driver reduced his speed before the braking zone, sacrificing a small amount of time through Turn 9 while still preserving enough performance to claim pole position.
“From what I saw in the GPS overlays, I think George Russell did a good job executing the lift. You can clearly see the speed reducing before the braking point, losing a little bit of time through Turn 9, but at the same time losing just little enough to remain on pole position,” Andrea Stella said.
The McLaren team principal added that the incident was ultimately a borderline case, one that depended on the stewards’ interpretation of the regulations. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that George Russell had executed a manoeuvre that could reasonably be considered compliant with the rules.
“I think this is ultimately subject to the stewards’ interpretation of whether that action satisfies the requirements of a yellow flag. But there was clearly an action, and I think we have to recognise that while drivers are incredibly skilled and exceptional at executing standard racing, they’re also very good at carrying out the kind of manoeuvres that may be required under yellow flags and providing a justification that the stewards can interpret as they did. So I think it was a very close case, but I don’t have any particular concerns about the fact that it was accepted by the stewards,” Andrea Stella continued.
The difference between single and double yellow flags
Andrea Stella also stressed the importance of preserving the distinction between single and double yellow flags, particularly since the relatively recent introduction of the rule requiring automatic lap deletion under double yellow conditions.
He explained that the marshals had the option of displaying double yellow flags, which would have forced every driver to abort their lap. Instead, they chose to display a single yellow flag, leaving it up to each driver to judge how much they needed to slow down.
“I think it’s important to maintain the distinction between what is permitted under a single yellow flag and what is both permitted and required under a double yellow,” Andrea Stella said.
“The introduction of automatic lap cancellation under double yellow flags is a relatively recent change, and I think it’s been a very positive one. Every driver absolutely has to be discouraged from pushing through a section under double yellow flags. But if there’s a distinction between single and double yellow, then ultimately the marshals or the race director must have decided that only a single yellow flag was necessary. That leaves the situation to the driver’s judgement, and if the driver pushes too hard, they will be penalised. Personally, I think we’re in a good place from that point of view,” the McLaren team principal concluded.
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