By asking his team to change their tires at Zandvoort while the safety car was on the track, George Russell demonstrated that he was becoming the leading driver at Mercedes F1 according to Jacques Villeneuve.
The Briton finished second in the Grand Prix behind Max Verstappen after overtaking his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was unable to stop because his team wanted to leave him in the lead of the race. A decision that will penalize him since he will end up losing the podium because of his worn medium tyres.
By benefiting from his fresher soft tires, Russell thus regained a 30-point lead over his garage neighbor in the drivers’ championship. And while he now leads 9-6 against Hamilton in their duel in the race, Villeneuve believes that the balance of power is currently changing internally.
« I see changes at Mercedes. George Russell is developing rapidly and becoming the leader of the team, » declared the 1997 world champion.
« He made the decision to put on the soft tires himself. Hamilton, with all his experience and all those championships won, could have done the same. »
The 51-year-old Canadian admits he was surprised by the reaction of Hamilton on his radio, who did not hide his anger after realizing he was on the wrong tire strategy at the end of the race.
« I was amazed by Lewis Hamilton’s outburst during the race, especially the way he expressed himself. He was aggressive, almost insulting. It’s good that he apologized, but that doesn’t doesn’t befit a world champion. And after all his team has meant to him, he shouldn’t talk to them like that. »
