The São Paulo Grand Prix delivered one of the most intense and unpredictable races of recent years, as shown by the final result. However, critical moments during the race also set the pace, especially after the 25th lap, when the rain intensified significantly, disrupting many teams’ strategies.
This shift provided an opportunity for some teams, who turned this phase to their advantage, while it negatively impacted others. One driver affected was George Russell, who had been leading the Grand Prix with a small but valuable advantage over Lando Norris before his pit stop to switch to a new set of intermediates.
While the McLaren driver had shown flashes of greater speed during the first part of the race, challenging his British compatriot for the lead, Russell’s good management and the added rear wing downforce made overtaking very difficult.
The most delicate moment arrived as the rain intensified, making car control harder for all drivers, including George Russell, who was struggling with a slippery feel in high-speed corners. As water levels on the track rose, teams faced immediate strategic choices, weighing short-term and long-term considerations. While teams like Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren chose to pit for new intermediates, some teams switched directly to full wets, and others decided to brave the conditions without stopping.
Ferrari initiated the pit stop chain by calling in Charles Leclerc for new intermediates, largely because he wanted to push in clear air after being held up in traffic. Mercedes and McLaren then followed suit, pitting under a Virtual Safety Car after some initial hesitation.
Pitting under the Virtual Safety Car can provide a significant advantage, but it also poses risks. If the VSC is called off while a driver is still in the pits, as happened with Russell and Norris, the advantage diminishes. Behind this call lay an interesting backstory involving Russell, who had actually preferred not to pit.
George Russell believes he should have trusted his gut and overridden the team’s decision. “It’s a very painful outcome overall,” Russell replied when asked if he felt he’d lost a podium in Brazil, having finished fourth.
On the call to pit, George Russell explained that he initially resisted but ultimately gave in to the team’s insistence: “It was ‘box.’ I said ‘stay out.’ The team said again ‘box,’ I said ‘stay out.’ They repeated ‘box,’ and in the end, I had to come in. Sometimes you need to trust your instincts. The last time I trusted mine, it worked out. Today, who knows, we might have won the race,” he added.
“If we hadn’t pitted, we would have been in the lead on the restart, and for the first 30 laps, I had controlled the pace. With Lando behind us, we also had excellent straight-line speed; at the very least, we would have finished second,” the British driver said, showing he had read the situation well.
Reviewing his team radio messages, it’s clear that George Russell hadn’t wanted to pit, as he’d anticipated how the next few laps would unfold, correctly predicting that the worsening rain would lead either to a red flag or an incident. Indeed, the race director called a Safety Car, followed by a red flag due to an accident involving Franco Colapinto. Under such conditions, the race is typically neutralized.
George Russell had another point: not only did he not want to pit, but he also didn’t want intermediates, insisting full wets were needed. However, with the radar showing the rain would ease within a few laps, the team ignored his advice and fitted intermediates instead. This decision also contributed to George Russell losing position to Lando Norris before the neutralization, as he lifted off on the main straight to avoid aquaplaning.
Russell feels that, at that moment, he had a better vantage point than the Mercedes pit wall to decide whether to pit or stay out, as well as which tires to choose. “From the team’s perspective, it’s not so obvious,” he added.
“From the cockpit, it was very clear there would be a red flag or a safety car because the conditions were undriveable. The rain showed no sign of letting up. I could see the huge black cloud overhead. And then Shov (Andrew Shovlin) stepped in, almost overruling my engineer, saying ‘box.’ So I assumed, you know… We work as a team, we try to make the best decisions in the moment.”
“Obviously, those who didn’t pit finished first, second, and third, and we finished ahead of all other drivers who did pit. So I take a small bit of satisfaction from that.”
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