Mercedes team principle Toto Wolff has revealed an electrical fault was the reason behind George Russell surrendering his place to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton on lap 27. Russell recovered to regain his place from Hamilton on lap 43 and then thought he’d gone clear of Leclerc on the final chicane with three laps, but the Monegasque star swooped back ahead on the main straight.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Russell after the safety car emerged on track following a crash involving Ollie Bearman, who lost control of his Haas while attempting an audacious overtake on Alpine’s Franco Colapinto for 15th at the Spoon Curve on the 22nd lap.
He wound up on the grass on the left-hand side of the track, ploughing through several polystyrene distance boards before coming to rest in the barrier. Bearman was helped away from his Haas by two marshals before he collapsed to the ground. He was subsequently transported by car to the on-track medical centre for X-rays which confirmed he had sustained a right knee contusion.
Russell recognised the safety car had proved costly. « Unbelievable », he exclaimed over the radio. In came Kimi Antonelli, who had been running a net third, for his complimentary tyre change while the field was neutralised. And the Italian emerged at the front of the pack.
Russell was back on the radio: « Wow. F***! Our luck in these last two races. » The remarks alluded to a mechanical issue in qualifying at the previous round in China.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wolff explained those issues and said: « It was a bug in the electrical system in the software to try to give him an advantage.
« What it gave was a super clip that slowed the car down and this is where he unexpectedly lost the position to Leclerc, so we didn’t cover ourselves in glory with George’s race. »
Wolff also heaped praise on Antonelli, having won his second race in a row to extend Mercedes advantage in the Constructors’ Championship and his own lead in the Drivers’ standings.
« It seemed like years ago when he was a kid, » the Mercedes chief said. « He met [Mercedes technical director] James Allison who thought it was a kid who lost his parents and was looking for someone.
« It’s incredible. Yesterday, he was 14 and today he was 19. He’s won two races in a row in F1 and we are really happy about the development that he’s taken.
« We need to protect him now from people talking about World Championships. »
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