Williams "damned if we do damned if we don't" on tyre gamble - George Russell

Williams

Williams "damned if we do damned if we don't" on tyre gamble - Russell

Russell challenged for points once more in Spain before falling to 14th

Ewan Gale

Tuesday 11 May 2021 15:31 Updated: 15:37

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George Russell has suggested his Williams team is "damned if we do and damned if we don't" after a strategic gamble failed to pay off during the Spanish Grand Prix.

Russell finished 14th in Barcelona after challenging the top 10 at one stage after Williams decided to pit the British driver under safety car conditions early on in the race.

But his medium tyres faded towards the end, leaving Russell to suggest his team cannot win strategically whatever the options.

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Asked if the decision to double-stack Russell and team-mate Nicholas Latifi was a sign of growing confidence, he said: "I think so.

"But it is difficult in our position where you are naturally on the back foot where you are dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.

"That was our situation after qualifying in Q1. We didn't feel like we had quite enough pace to get into Q2 but we were wrong, we get to Q2 and we wish we had another set of tyres.

"Had we finished Q1 in 16th or 17th, you think 'Why didn't we use that third set?'

"Perhaps if we had done a more ordinary strategy then maybe we would have had a better finishing time and position but we wouldn't have had that opportunity to be in the battle. It is so difficult."

Former GP3 and F2 champion Russell indicated the difference in attacking philosophy between a backmarker team and fighting up front has forced him to change his driving style.

"It is difficult for the strategists because we are all trying to roll the dice to get fortunate and get that one good result," he added.

"We only need one good result in the whole season to transform the constructors' championships and as a driver I recognise that.

"Sometimes you have to put more on the table than you would if you are going for a championship, which is naturally who I am as a driver, and not how I have gone about my business in the junior series when I was trying to win a championship as opposed to going all in for that one opportunity."