George Russell (GBR) of Mercedes AMG F1 W15 competed in the Formula 1 World Championship, Round 8, Monaco Grand Prix, held in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on May 26, 2024.
Christian Horner, the Team Principal of Red Bull, expressed his confusion over the “defeatist” strategies employed by Mercedes in the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. During the race, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull car was sandwiched between the two Mercedes cars on the starting grid, and this remained the same until the checkered flag, resulting in a procession race. Due to the unique characteristics of the Monte Carlo circuit, overtaking was nearly impossible, leading both Verstappen and Mercedes to plan for a long stint on the hard compound tires. However, their plans were disrupted by a red flag on the first lap, allowing the drivers to change their tires during the stoppage and race to the end of the event.
Despite making a late pit stop to switch back to the hard tires and closing in on George Russell with 16 laps remaining, Verstappen could not find an opportunity to overtake. Russell had been maintaining a similar pace to the leading group during the restart, but he was instructed via team radio to back off from Lando Norris and manage his tire wear. Although Horner admitted that Russell’s actions did not change the final outcome, he was not impressed with how Mercedes controlled the race pace.
“I really didn’t understand Mercedes’ approach today. George had a very conservative race, sacrificing a significant amount of time and then suddenly speeding up at the end,” Horner said. “It didn’t make much sense to me. However, I don’t believe it would have made a difference… they had no intention of overtaking anyone. It was simply a very defeatist race to protect their fifth position.”
Verstappen had an incident-free race, finishing in sixth place, while Sergio Perez retired on the first lap. As a result, Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship was reduced to 24 points. When asked about Toto Wolff’s earlier statement that Red Bull had already secured both titles, Horner replied: “Yes, I believe so. Maybe not against Mercedes, but Ferrari and McLaren seem to be strong competitors that cannot be ignored. It’s a long championship, and they gained a significant number of points today.”
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