Mercedes driver George Russell has blamed his team’s strategic calls for a missed podium at the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, following several tense radio exchanges with his race engineer.
Starting fourth, Russell lost places early on and grew frustrated when instructed to manage his tyres while battling teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with a quicker Oscar Piastri on his tail.
His frustration boiled over on the radio: “Marcus, I’ve got a f***ing car on my f**. A car much quicker than ours.”
Russell explained his aggressive stance was to maximise the team’s fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship.
He felt he had the pace to attack but the eventual position swap with Antonelli on Lap 41 was “too late,” by which point his tyres had degraded.
“Ultimately, we left it too long,” Russell stated, stressing the decision should have been made “straight away or not at all.”
He believes the opportunity to chase down the leaders vanished due to the delay, culminating in Piastri passing him later in the race.
Russell vowed the team will review the decisions, adding that the goal is the championship fight against Ferrari and Red Bull, not an internal battle with Antonelli.
