Tydd St Giles F1 star outside the points at the Monaco Grand Prix
George Russell was left 'without any real options' in Monaco where Mercedes failed to score points for the first time since the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
Russell's weekend in the Principality was marred by Mercedes’ failings as his engine failed in qualifying and then the team struggled with tyre strategy.
In practice, the driver who grew up in Tydd St Giles failed to reach the top five in any of the sessions and was out of the top 10 for the majority of the running.
Things went from bad to worse in qualifying as, despite making it to the second stage with relative ease, Russell’s engine failed in the tunnel meaning that he could not continue and would start the race in 14th.
On a track famed for a lack of overtaking, this situation was suboptimal but for the 2025 season a new regulation had been introduced for Monaco - each driver had to make two pit stops.
This new regulation may have provided opportunities for Russell but, by the end of the first lap, he had failed to gain any positions.
This remained the status quo until around lap 20 where other drivers began to make their first pit stops which allowed Russell to proceed up the order up to 11th as Mercedes’ strategy involved waiting as late as possible to change tyres in the hope of a safety car or red flag.
At this point, Russell encountered the Williams of Alex Albon which was going rather slowly in order to aid his team-mate by creating a pit-stop gap.
Crawling around the track infuriated Russell who decided to drive straight through the chicane and declared on the team radio: "I’d rather take the penalty."
The FIA stewards did not take kindly to this blasé interpretation of the rules and handed Russell a drive-through penalty which cost him circa 18 seconds of race time.
On lap 64, Russell made his first tyre change and emerged in 11th as his team-mate Kimi Antonelli was employing the same 'driving slowly' tactics to create a gap which allowed the Brit to make a pit stop without losing position.
A few laps later, Russell made his second pit stop onto medium tyres to retain 11th place, around 20 seconds away from the points-paying positions despite setting some of the fastest lap times of the race.
Russell said: "It really felt like we were playing chess on track with this new mandatory two stop regulation.
"The strategy was for Kimi and I to help each other out and gain positions throughout the race.
"Unfortunately, Williams and Racing Bulls opted for the same strategy, and it left us without any real options.
"We still tried to play the long game, hoping for a safety car or red flag, but nothing fell our way.
"With this regulation, it was easy for teams to work together, inverting cars and giving free stops possibilities.
"Driving four seconds off the pace and not being overtaken is easy here in Monaco so the calculation to do that is easy to make.
"On the bright side, I really enjoyed my last 10 laps.
"Monaco is one of the best circuits in the world and I had the chance to push to the limit and enjoy the most of it in those closing stages."
The 2025 Formula One season continues this weekend in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix where Russell has taken multiple podiums in the past.
