Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya claimed that Mercedes sabotaged George Russell’s campaign at the 2026 Barcelona‑Catalunya Grand Prix by forcing an early pit stop, a move he says weakened Russell’s late‑race run against Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes’ Strategic Timing
Hamilton opted for a three‑stop plan, making his first stop on lap 12. Mercedes immediately responded by calling Russell in the following lap but stayed committed to a two‑stop approach, leaving the Briton to ride over 30 laps on the final set of slicks.
Montoya pointed out that the Valencia outfit “reacted to Lewis’s strategy, but they stayed on their own,” adding that “they put themselves in a really difficult situation because at the end of the race, they had to do over 30 laps on the last set of tyres.”
He explained that an earlier pit break created a wider degradation gap: “If you think about it, if you have two‑tenths a lap degradation and you stop four laps later, that’s eight tenths a lap. It opens a bit of a gap initially, but it just makes it hard.”
Ideal Pit Window
Montoya argued that a two‑stop strategy would have benefited from a later lap, “go into a two‑stop, you should have gone to lap 21 or 22. Then it becomes a much easier race.”
He suggested that if Mercedes had delayed the stops, Russell would have faced a tougher battle with Hamilton, who would have had to extend his runs once the majority of drivers made their final pit stops.
Race Results
Russell began the race from pole but finished second behind Hamilton, earning 18 points. Hamilton’s upgraded Ferrari capitalised on a three‑stop tactic to secure his 106th career win, marking a first triumph for the Italian marque.
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