George Russell didn’t mince his words after a cagey, tactical 2025 F1 Monaco GP that left him just outside the points in P11. In a race shaped entirely by the FIA’s mandatory two-stop regulation and exploited team tactics, Russell likened the experience to “playing chess”- only, in his words, “chess was probably more exhilarating.”
“Yeah, but we knew that was probably going to be the case,” he admitted to the media after the race.
“We planned it ourselves to do it with Kimi [Antonelli] and me at the back of the pack. I would pit, he would back the pack, and then we’d swap, and I’d do the same for him. But Visa [Racing Bulls] did it, Williams did it.
“We pit on lap one, we finish outside the points. We go long, we finish outside the points.
“And obviously at one point I just said, screw it. You know, I want to enjoy Monaco. I didn’t get the chance in quali yesterday.”
This decision led to the most joy Russell got out of the weekend.
“I got 25 laps driving, qualifying laps, and every lap. I enjoyed that at least. And ironically, I finished in a higher position by taking the drive-through penalty than I would have if I didn’t.
“So unfortunately, the system’s flawed.”
The bleak assessment mirrored the team’s reality. Mercedes’ long-term strategy with Russell and Kimi Antonelli was foiled by rival teams playing the same slowdown game.
George Russell reflects on team-tactics at F1 Monaco GP
The introduction of a mandatory two-stop regulation this year was intended to spice up Monaco. But instead of chaos, it bred calculation.
“It’s too easy to have Lawson take the 40-second gap to help Hadjar, and that was comfortable of him. And then Sainz did another 40 seconds.”
By running intentionally slower, drivers ahead created artificially large gaps that allowed their teammates to pit without losing track position- a method Mercedes had planned, but others executed better.
“Driving four seconds off the pace here is dead easy. Our strategist said anything less than a three-second pace advantage is a 0% chance of an overtake. And you need four and a half seconds for a 50% chance of an overtake.
So you effectively can put an F2 car out there, and they’ve got a chance of holding up an F1 car. I don’t know what the solution is.”
Dinner bills for damages
What looked like a calculated on-track rebellion by Russell in illegally overtaking Alex Albon at the Nouvelle Chicane wasn’t even about salvaging points. “It wasn’t the plan. The plan was to try to overtake. But the team said to us on Thursday, they think that if you need anything less than a three-second advantage, there is a zero per cent chance of an overtake.
And a four-and-a-half-second advantage is a 50% chance. So, you know, Carlos and Alex aren’t stupid. They positioned the car comfortably to defend.”
While the two mates took it in stride, beyond the banter, Russell was disappointed in how his race turned out. “Yeah, it definitely was dangerous at points. It’s the most challenging circuit of the season when you have a driver breaking in the middle of the straight.
Of course, it is dangerous, but I don’t know what can be done. The race is boring with a one-stop. In the race with a two-stop, the teams are just strategic.”
Russell also added, “It was never the plan to curve a corner like that. But as I said, I didn’t want to spend 77 laps in someone’s gearbox, also risking myself. You know, the driver’s braking on a straight and playing the team game.
You know, I’m having dinner with Alex tonight, so he’s going to get a bill.”
