F1 News
Mercedes will take risk with rain: 'That's what we need'
- GPblog.com
For Mercedes, expectations were perhaps a little higher than usual after Barcelona. In Spain it became clear that the reigning world champions had solved their problems around the porpoising and could therefore start working to further develop the car. In Monaco, however, the car struggled again, making the sixth starting spot the maximum achievable for George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton will start behind the young Briton in eighth place. Normally overtaking is impossible in Monaco, but with rain on the radar for the Grand Prix, a lot is still possible. Russell expects that too, he explains at Formula1.com. "Bring it on. That’s what we need in this situation – high risk, high reward. We have to go for it."
Mercedes goes all-in
Russell meant by that that Mercedes will not wait to make strategic gambles during the race when it comes to that. "If we lose out on a P5 or a P6, it’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. We want to put it all on the line and go for the win. You often don’t say that from P6 in Monaco."
But, as Russell also sees it, the chances of rain are very high. The last rain race in Monaco dates back to 2016 when Daniel Ricciardo lost his victory to Lewis Hamilton due to a capital mistake by Red Bull Racing in the pit lane. In that race, Max Verstappen crashed out at the casino by ending up on the wet part of the track with slicks.