Russell admits Mercedes radio call was 'the wrong decision'

George Russell has explained the frustration behind his explosive team radio messages at the end of Saturday's rain-lashed qualifying at Interlagos, admitting Mercedes made the wrong call when it mattered most and potentially cost him a shot at pole position.

The Briton had looked particularly comfortable as the conditions deteriorated around the Brazilian circuit, ultimately securing second place on the timesheets, just over two tenths behind McLaren's Lando Norris.

But what should have been a satisfying conclusion to a highly competitive session instead ended in exasperation. Russell was pushing hard on what he believed would be his final flying lap when Mercedes instructed him to back off after he caught Alex Albon's Williams ahead.

The rain subsequently intensified, leaving the Mercedes driver without another opportunity to improve. With a five-place grid penalty already hanging over him for an engine change, Russell will now line up seventh on Sunday.

'It was just a bit of miscommunication'

Speaking after qualifying, Russell described the episode as a communication breakdown between the cockpit and the Mercedes pit wall, while making clear that he wanted answers.

"I think it was just a bit of miscommunication. I need to speak with the team because we believed we'd get another lap before the rain came in," he explained.

"I was on a really strong lap and I was asked to back off because I caught Albon, and then obviously the rain came. So yeah, it was very disappointing. Need to understand how it happened why we got that wrong.

"I felt very strong the whole, the whole session. I had more confidence in the wet than I had in the dry. But yeah definitely felt pole was there for the taking."

Asked whether he had considered ignoring the instruction and continuing his push, Russell pointed to the delicate relationship between driver and team when decisions have to be made on the fly.

"They've got the weather forecast in front of them, and I don't. This is where you need that trust and you're relying on one another,” he said.

"Obviously it was the wrong decision and it was a decision that I think as soon as it was made, I think we knew it was the wrong one because already we could actually feel the rain pouring harder."

Russell refuses to point fingers

The Mercedes driver was keen to stress that his frustration was not directed at his race engineer, who was simply relaying information coming from the team's various departments.

"So we need to understand… We’re relying on a lot of systems,” he said.

“We can't point the finger at somebody, we need to understand why did we make that decision and were our systems telling us what we needed to know as you rely on the radar.

"But it doesn't make it any less frustrating for me. It's not my engineer's fault. He’s relaying information. He's ultimately the one who passes the message on, but he's got 12 people talking to him, giving him that information to relay on.

"So we just need to understand why we made that decision."

Russell also acknowledged that the disappointment would be felt throughout the Mercedes garage, insisting that the collective performance deserved recognition despite the late misjudgment.

"When you're a driver, you're the one who feels it the most,” he added.

“We’ve got to remember, we collectively made a misjudgment today, and there's members of my team who are going to be feeling as bad as I am currently.

• São Paulo Grand Prix - Qualifying results

"It's important to remember that, and we need to just keep the morale high. It was a very solid performance, and I guess we take the positive from that. There's no points for pole, it would have just been a nice little one to add to the tally."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged the dilemma, describing it as a 50-50 decision with no easy answer given the rapidly changing conditions. He nevertheless felt Russell had delivered a performance worthy of pole.

The Briton may have missed out on that particular reward, but his frustration will now have to give way to a more pressing challenge: fighting forward from seventh on a circuit where overtaking could prove difficult.

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