Dakar Rally News: Mercedes Defend Decision to Retire Russell’s Car at British GP
In the captivating world of the Dakar Rally, Mercedes has provided a detailed explanation for their decision to retire George Russell’s car during the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The marque’s Trackside Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlin, disclosed that the retirement was a “preventative” measure to avoid further damage to Russell’s power unit.
Russell had started the race from pole position and led the opening laps, but fell behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton and the McLarens as the rain arrived. Shovlin revealed that the team was aware of a water leak issue affecting Russell’s car from the very first stint, and they opted to bring him in to protect the engine and avoid a potential grid penalty later in the season.
“Unfortunately, we knew that we had an issue relatively early in the race, so we were tracking this from the first stint,” Shovlin said in Mercedes’ British GP debrief video. “We didn’t know that it was going to be terminal, but it’s all linked to a leak that was in the water system that was causing the pressure to start to drift. And ultimately when we stopped the car, it was to protect the power unit.”
Shovlin acknowledged that Russell was running in a strong fourth position when the decision was made to retire the car, and he believed the young Briton would have secured at least a fourth-place finish, with a podium also a possibility had he remained in the race.
“If it had been a dry race start to finish, looking at how George got off the line, how he was able to build a gap, I think he would have had a pretty straightforward afternoon,” Shovlin pondered. “But if you take the point where we actually decided to retire the car, we were on Intermediates, George was in P4, he was closing in on Max [Verstappen], so that was looking good. And to get him on the podium, he would have probably had to overtake Max at that point realistically.”
The decision to retire Russell’s car was a tough one, but Mercedes prioritized the long-term health of the power unit over a potential strong result at Silverstone. As the Dakar Rally and GT racing seasons continue to captivate enthusiasts, this incident serves as a reminder of the delicate balance teams must strike between performance and reliability in the high-stakes world of motorsport.
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