George Russell defending against Sergio Perez for the P3 podium got instructed by Mercedes to not fight intensively against the Mexican.
The Australian Grand Prix race had several exciting moments to offer. But it was tough to expect Mercedes to fight for the podium, as it was expected that the podium places would be distributed among the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers.
But luck had other plans. The initial retirement of Carlos Sainz gave Mercedes a chance to give a push. The safety car which was brought out after Sebastian Vettel’s crash, gave an opportunity to George Russell to change his tyres without losing his position.
In fact, Russell was at P3 when the green flags were raised. But soon, Sergio Perez recovered his lost ground, and directly came into confrontation with Russell.
The Briton tried to defend his ground for a while before Mercedes realized that it may take a huge toll on his tyres. Thus, he was instructed to let Perez by and focus on tyre management than picking up battles, which can cost them crucial points.
“George important, management is more important than position. If you’re hurting the tyres to keep Perez behind, you can let him by,” commanded Mercedes.
“That’s not what I want to hear,” shot back Russell. But the Mercedes driver, in the end, bowed to the wishes of his team, and let Perez go by without a tough fight.
George Russell receiving every F1 driver’s least favourite radio message 📻 pic.twitter.com/Oynkw3HHsv
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 10, 2022
Also read: George Russell expects a similar struggle for Mercedes at the Australian GP
George Russell still managed to get a podium
But it seemed like Russell had some luck with him at Melbourne. Max Verstappen soon had to retire his car, as some power unit problem caught the car on fire.
Thus, Russell was by default promoted to a position above giving him a podium position in the end. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton bagged P4 from the race.
The 27 points haul allows Mercedes to extend an unlikely lead of 10 points over Red Bull in the standings even though Perez brought P2. Verstappen’s retirement was surely a big upset for Red Bull in Australia.
Surely, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit has to introspect into their issues, if they don’t want the world championship to slip away from his hands.
Also read: Toto Wolff reviews the performance of George Russell after first two races
