It was to be a pit-stop to make a precautionary change of tyres as the signs were good that George Russell could win the Sakhir GP. But it turned out to be a bungled move that not only ultimately took away the chances of the driver who was driving in place of Lewis Hamilton, but it would cost the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Team 20,000 euros (about RM98,700) as well.
The pit crews practice and practice to get the stop down to seconds and these days, without refuelling, the car can be in and out in less than 4 seconds. Red Bull Racing holds the record – 1.88 seconds to changed 4 tyres. But the Sakhir GP presented new conditions that required quick decisions as each lap was less than a minute and it is believed that the sudden decision to make the precautionary change had created a bit of confusion, compounded by Valtteri Bottas also coming in.
Mix-up rectified a lap later
Russell’s car received a mixed set of tyres – two of which were the front ones for Bottas’ car – and when the mistake was realized, he was already zooming off so it was another minute before he could be brought back in to rectify the error. Fortunately, it was less than a minute to do a circuit of the track. But he was no longer within sight of the front of the pack where Sergio Perez was on his way to his first F1 win – which could also have been Russell’s.
But the 22-year old who had been released from Williams Racing at the request of the Mercedes-AMG team showed that he had the determination to win and though he was just out of points range, he managed to fight his way back up to ninth when the race ended, getting the first 2 points of his F1 career plus 1 point for the fastest lap of the 87-lap race (55.4 seconds).
Russell did everything he was instructed to do and drove a fine race, demonstrating how good he can be if he has the right car with the right resources. He must have been focused on not making a bad impression in any way so he could not, as Hamilton did in the Turkish BP, ignore the unplanned precautionary pit stop and keep his leading position. Hamilton had been asked to come in 2 laps before the end of the Turkish and chose not to.
‘Incorrect use of tyres’ offence
The offence committed was described as ‘incorrect use of tyres’ and the Stewards learnt that it was caused by a radio communications technical issue wherein the pit wall’s communication to the pit crew that Car 63 (Russell) was entering the pits prior to (and not after) Car 77 (Bottas), failed to be received by the crew of Car 63 because at the same time, the driver of Car 63 transmitted over the top of that message. This resulted in the front tyres of Car 77 accidentally going onto Car 63, as the cars were ‘double stacked’ at the time.
The offence would normally involve a sporting penalty up to Disqualification but the Stewards also considered mitigating circumstances, besides the radio issue. It was noted that the team rectified the problem within 1 lap. Perhaps it was considered to be enough ‘penalty’ that both cars dropped down in classification.
The Stewards also pointed out that one of the regulations which was thought to be applicable was not actually catered for but considered to be similar in nature. However, the responsibility to fit tyres in compliance with the regulations, still rests with the team and therefore a penalty had to be imposed.
The Stewards have recommended that the FIA consider amending the regulation to accommodate this type of situation when it is rectified without delay. It is noted that this type of mix-up has not previously been experienced in Formula 1.
