Mercedes reveals radio failure led to Russell tyre mix-up
Toto Wolff has revealed a radio failure led to the tyre mix-up that cost George Russell a likely maiden Formula 1 victory in Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix.

In his first appearance for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's stand-in, Williams regular Russell dominated the majority of the race at the Bahrain International Circuit, taking the lead at the start.
Russell built up a lead of almost three seconds over Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas through the opening stint before pitting, and ran over five seconds clear after gaining more time though the pit cycle.
But when the safety car was called on lap 59, Mercedes tried to double-stack its cars in the pits, only for the team to be slow in fitting Russell's tyres.
Read Also:
The pit crew released Russell, but found it had accidentally fitted the tyres meant for Bottas to the British driver's car. As a result, Bottas had his existing hard tyres re-fitted before being released again.
Asked by Motorsport.com how the tyre mix-up happened, Mercedes team principal Wolff revealed that a radio issue meant the call had not come through to Russell's side of the garage.
"What happened is that when we called the pit crews out, they get a call on the radios and bring the right tyres out," Wolff said.
"One side of the garage, George's side, didn't hear the pit call.
"We had a radio that didn't function, and then the wrong guys with the wrong tyres came out."
Russell was forced to pit on the next lap to change back onto his own tyres, but is under investigation for running on Bottas' compounds.
"We knew immediately when Valtteri didn't have his tyres, we knew that Valtteri's tyres were on George's car," Wolff said.
"We fitted Valtteri's old hard tyre that we just took off to the car again, and we knew we needed to pit George again."
Despite the issues, Russell was still in a position to win the race in Sakhir, fighting back from fifth on the restart with 19 laps to go to sit second before a puncture forced another pitstop.
Russell ultimately finished the race ninth, and admitted afterwards that the setbacks "really bloody hurt" after coming so close to a debut win for Mercedes.
"The slow puncture probably came from him having to run off the line so many times in order to overtake," said Wolff.
"As for the race win? I don't know. I think our planner said he would catch up to Sergio and maybe DRS would have helped us, but I'm not sure [if he would have won].
"Sergio drove a brilliant, brilliant race, and deserves the race win because we made too many mistakes, and were unlucky with the puncture."
Related video

Previous article
Mercedes fined for Sakhir GP tyre infringement
Next article
Leclerc gets grid penalty for Abu Dhabi GP

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Event | Sakhir GP |
Drivers | George Russell |
Teams | Mercedes |
Author | Luke Smith |
Mercedes reveals radio failure led to Russell tyre mix-up
Trending
Is Red Bull Hiding the Real RB16B? | F1 2021
Sergio Perez's First Drive With Red Bull Racing
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
Eight things Red Bull must do to beat Mercedes in 2021
After seven years of defeat at the hands of Mercedes, Red Bull is as hungry as ever to secure a fifth world championship. But there are key challenges it must overcome in 2021 to switch from challenger to conqueror
How AlphaTauri has adapted to F1's new rules
AlphaTauri launched its AT02, complete with a new livery, as it bids to home in on an already-tight midfield battle. Although there were few outright new parts displayed on the launch render, there might be a few clues into further changes down the line…