Juan Pablo Montoya criticized Mercedes’ decision to order George Russell to let Kimi Antonelli pass during the Dutch Grand Prix of Formula 1. For the former driver, the team may have created a problem by interfering in the battle between its two drivers.
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In a participation on the MontoyAS podcast, the Colombian considered the order unfair to Russell, although he acknowledged that the choice seemed logical at that moment given the pace difference between the two. Montoya assessed that Mercedes expected Russell to lose positions anyway, but the British driver’s subsequent performance changed the perspective on the decision.
“Honestly, I thought it was very unfair to George. I understand the team’s side, but if they are fighting for a championship, the two drivers cannot do that to each other,” Montoya said. According to him, Mercedes probably imagined that Russell would finish fourth and would not be able to keep Lewis Hamilton behind.
The situation changed when Russell managed to hold Hamilton with a defense that Montoya described as ‘spectacular’. Therefore, the Colombian believes that, looking at the race result, Mercedes may conclude that it should have kept Russell ahead of Antonelli at that moment.
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“If I were Mercedes, I would think I made a mistake by letting Antonelli pass and doing that to George. In theory, they did the right thing because George was much slower, but the work he did to prevent Hamilton from overtaking him was spectacular,” he added.
Montoya also stated that the team should consider compensating Russell later: “The fair thing would be for Mercedes to return the favor to George at some point,” concluded the former Formula 1 driver.
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