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.
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
Mercedes fined for Sakhir GP tyre infringement
Leclerc gets grid penalty for Abu Dhabi GP
How Ferrari gained a new edge over McLaren in F1 2021 battle
Supremacy in the McLaren vs Ferrari fight over third place in the constructors’ championship has ebbed and flowed between the two teams so far in the 2021 Formula 1 season. But for several key reasons, right now it seems the advantage has swung decisively back to the Scuderia and McLaren knows it.
The details that boosted Verstappen and held back Hamilton in Austin
As the 2021 Formula 1 title battle winds towards its climax, the United States GP added another thrilling act in the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen battle. Although Hamilton aced the start, Verstappen and Red Bull took the initiative with strategy and were richly rewarded, despite Mercedes' best efforts as the race went down to the wire
On a baking hot afternoon in Texas, Formula 1 drivers were tested to their limits. As the pressure on the title contending squads reaches an ever-greater level of intensity, the foremost challengers again showed their class, but were outshone by a standout drive from the upper midfield
The 10 greatest drives of lost legend Jo Siffert
It's 50 years since Jo Siffert was killed in his prime at Brands Hatch. The Swiss scored just two world championship wins in a Formula 1 career spent largely with privateer teams, but showed on numerous occasions in single-seaters and in sportscars with Porsche that he could beat any of the best drivers of his era given the right equipment.
Why a misunderstood Kimi Raikkonen will thrive in retirement
Three years on from Kimi Raikkonen's last Grand Prix victory at Austin, he is now six races away from ending the longest Formula 1 career in history. His friend and former Ice1 Racing rally team PR man Anthony Peacock explains why there’s nobody quite like the 2007 world champion and why F1 will miss him (but he won’t miss it).
How Verstappen has become F1 champion material
As Red Bull and Honda go all-out for victory in the Japanese engine manufacturer’s last season of its latest Formula 1 dalliance, Max Verstappen finds himself thrust into a compelling title fight with Lewis Hamilton. He told OLEG KARPOV about his evolution into a world championship contender and why Red Bull's no compromise ethos suits him down to the ground
Why long-run times should please Red Bull in Austin F1 battle
Mercedes has been on a roll of late in the ultra-tight fight to win the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It started off well in practice at Austin for this weekend’s US Grand Prix, but Red Bull got closer as Friday unfolded and even seemed to find an edge in one critical area of what seems set to be set to be another close contest.
The six critical factors that could hand F1 2021 glory to Hamilton or Verstappen
The 2021 Formula 1 title battle is finely poised with six races remaining, as just six points separate championship leader Max Verstappen from seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. In such a closely-fought season, the outcome could hinge on several small factors playing the way of Red Bull or Mercedes