George Russell explained Mercedes’ decision to swap positions with Kimi Antonelli in the final part of the Dutch Grand Prix in Formula 1. The Brit acknowledged that this order is part of the team’s internal rules when the drivers are on different strategies.
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The situation arose after a Virtual Safety Car period changed Mercedes’ strategic scenario. Antonelli, who was ahead of Russell, pitted to put on soft tires, while the Brit stayed on track with more worn tires, temporarily taking second position behind Lando Norris of McLaren.
With Antonelli returning to the track on significantly newer tires, Mercedes decided to swap their cars and asked Russell to give up the position. The Italian took advantage of the pace to finish second, 4.370 seconds ahead of his teammate, securing a one-two finish for Mercedes.
Russell stated that the decision was in line with a rule established by the team for situations with different strategies: “We have always said as a team that when we are on different strategies, we will never fight and will always swap, and that has always been our rule,” the Brit explained.
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The driver also highlighted that Antonelli was ahead of him before the Virtual Safety Car and that the choice to pit was an attempt to protect Mercedes’ result: “Could I have kept him behind? Maybe, but equally, it could have been fifth place. So, in the end, he deserved to be P2. I think P3 was a fair result for me,” Russell concluded.
Even with these words from Russell now, at the moment of the team order during the race, the Brit showed his displeasure at swapping positions with Antonelli, even ironically asking over the team radio if the Italian would be able to catch Norris, something that was obviously impossible at that moment.
After twelve rounds held this year, Antonelli has 242 points in the drivers’ championship, while Russell has 183, a difference of 59 points between the two Mercedes teammates.
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