George Russell has revealed that he spied a potential chance to take a shock win in Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix prior to the red flag that nulled strategic variance.
Russell was fifth on the grid in Monte Carlo but proved to be the leading runner on the Hard tyre as the Ferrari and McLaren drivers at the front went with the Medium.
Both Russell and team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who lined up seventh behind Max Verstappen, were angling to run an extended stint and capitalise on late opportunities.
But while he would move up into fourth when Carlos Sainz incurred a puncture from contact, a collision at the back stopped the race and reinstated the Ferrari to third.
With the entire grid utilising tyre changes being permitted under red flags, the encounter developed into a procession as race management dominated the overall pace.
Russell rued the timing as it denied Mercedes executing an alternative race run that he suspected could have delivered a win had favourable circumstances transpired.
“When we lined up on the grid the first time and we were on the Hards and the four drives ahead were on the Mediums, I was like, ‘this is perfect’,” the Briton said.
“Then when Carlos had his puncture, I genuinely thought, ‘we’ve got a shot here’ – minimum for a podium, potentially even victory – being on that different strategy.
“We were just going to play a bit of a team game to try and boost our chances. But as soon as that red flag came out, everything went out the window.”
Although Mercedes remains without a single podium across the opening eight rounds, Russell believes Monaco represented an encouraging weekend for the squad.
The German marque accelerated through a revised front wing design last weekend, which Russell sampled and used to match his best result of the campaign so far.
“Seventy-odd laps on that Medium, closing the gap in on Ferrari and McLaren at the end, I think we can arguably say it was probably one of our best weekends,” he said.
“The team have done an amazing job bringing these upgrades to the car. Having the confidence to put on here in Monaco, as well.
“There’s a bit of pressure on my side not to dink it. But I think this has been a real positive, weekend for us. I think we can carry that through to the next races.”
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