George Russell left confused by delay in Imola ‘gamble’ on slicks

Russell finished fourth in the latest race of the 2022 season

George Russell is out-performing Lewis Hamilton this season (PA)

George Russell was left confused at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as the rest of the field didn’t pit for slicks.

Drivers were reluctant to pit as the track at Imola dried out because rain looked the threaten the track again. But Russell spotted the need for a change in tyre and asked to switch.

“I was asking to go on slicks three laps before we boxed but nobody else was pitting and I would have just come out in the middle of the pack behind the guys on intermediates,” he said per GP Fans.

“I don’t know why nobody else at the back was taking the gamble because, for me, it was clear slicks three laps before I pitted.”

The Mercedes driver ended up finishing fourth in the race but said if he didn’t gamble with a tyre change he would have been out of the points.

“It was just literally that I would have come out in P13 I think, in a load of traffic with the intermediate runners.

“We were pulling two seconds a lap on these guys and you needed them to pit to clear up the space for us to pit and I was shocked that nobody else went sooner. It was really strange because it was clearly right.”

Russell has now slipped to fourth in the driver standings but is out-performing his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who is in seventh.

Despite Hamilton’s struggles this season Russell says he doesn’t anticipate becoming Mercedes’ first choice driver.

He added: “Lewis is going to come back incredibly strong, I have no doubt. He’s definitely going to be pushing me all the way. I think it’s just how things fall out sometimes in a race weekend. I made a very strong start; I don’t know what happened to him at the start.

“I expect him to come back so strong. The way he is pushing and motivating the team is inspiring. I’m not getting comfortable with this position, because I know what he’s capable of.”