F1 News: Mercedes Chief Reveals Reason Behind George Russell's Odd Second Pitstop in Imola GP

Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff has revealed why George Russell unexpectedly went into the pits for a second time during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The British driver faced a noticeable decline in his lap times mid-race. The Mercedes team, keen on not losing ground to Red Bull's Sergio Perez, opted for a second stop. Wolff explained during an interview with Sky Sports F1:

"His lap times were getting slower and slower and our forecast saw he was not going to make it to the end and we didn't want to lose the position to Perez. The forecast said we were three or four laps to make it."

The decision not to switch positions between Lewis Hamilton and Russell was also questioned. Wolff responded:

"Lewis would have probably taken him anyway. The point being that we are racing for P6 and P7 and wanted to keep the Red Bull behind. It was a safety call."

As Russell had new tires on so late in the race he was able to secure the additional point for the fastest lap.

"That was great. Alonso missed it. He gave it a try but didn't get it, so that's good," Wolff commented.

The team chief revealed a sense of frustration with the overall pace of the Mercedes W15 compared to the leaders. He acknowledged the gap and reflected on the incremental progress needed.

"You can't see it on the result that we are making steps with where we want the car to be.We are 30+ seconds off the quickest guys and that's a lot P6 and P7 us nothing to be proud of

"You can hear the frustration in my voice but there is more to come and it's incremental, marginal gains we need to make. This is how the sport goes."