"It was not a stupid decision": George Russell backs up his call to switch to slick tires at the start of the F1 British GP

George Russell believes the decision to switch to slick tires during the British GP wasn’t necessarily the wrong one. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Mercedes driver lamented that the changing weather conditions didn’t favor his strategy after the race.

Following the first Virtual Safety Car period, Russell was among the first drivers in the top 10 to gamble on dry tires. However, just a few laps later, rain returned, catching him out. The Briton spun off from fifth place, falling outside the points. Though he recovered some ground as the race unfolded, he ultimately finished in 10th place, securing just a solitary point.

Russell felt that the call to go to slicks was strategically sound given the track evolution at the time, and that they had a potential pace advantage on the dry compound. However, with rain arriving sooner than expected, and much of his stint unfolding under the Virtual Safety Car, the decision didn’t pay off. He concluded that the rapidly shifting weather simply dealt them an unfortunate hand.

Asked by Sportskeeda if his decision to switch to slick tires early cost him a good race result, George Russell replied:

“I think pitting at the beginning was not a stupid decision because it was dry for 25 minutes. What we didn't know was that it would be 15 minutes of virtual safety car. When the virtual safety car ended, we had a five-second pace advantage on the guys in the inters. So if only we had the whole stint of this, maybe we would have gotten back into the lead. But yeah, when it rains, it pours, and everything just went against us.”

George Russell is currently fourth in the drivers’ championship with 147 points. Meanwhile, Mercedes sits third in the constructors’ standings with 210 points.

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George Russell believes that ‘bold’ strategy decisions cost him a potential fourth place

George Russell believes a fourth-place finish at the British GP was within reach, if not for a few strategic missteps. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Mercedes driver felt that a more conservative strategy approach could have delivered a stronger result.

Russell suggested that his pace early in the race, particularly on the intermediate tires, was stronger than many of his direct rivals. However, he acknowledged that there wasn’t much lap time to be found on that compound as the conditions evolved. In contrast, he felt his strongest stint came on the dry tyres. Ultimately, he concluded that while the team’s gamble didn’t pay off, a more cautious route might have secured him a solid fourth-place finish.

Asked if there were more points on the table if the conditions were in his favor, George Russell replied:

“In our position, if you play it safe, you'll come home with a safe result, and of course, that would have probably been P4. Standing here now, do I wish I had P4, of course. But you know we wanted to be bold, we wanted to be brave, we went for some bold decisions and ultimately it bit us.”

Asked by Sportskeeda if there was more lap time to find in the race, he answered:

“Not really, not when you are in the front, when you're in a good place. I felt really strong at the beginning on the on the drier tyres, I was lapping a few seconds faster than other drivers on the slicks, lapping much quicker on the guys on the inters, but everything went against us.”

Despite a disappointing result at his home Grand Prix, Russell remains the leading contributor to the team’s points tally. So far in the 2025 season, the British driver has secured one race win and four podium finishes.