George Russell set for Mercedes talks after Barcelona disagreement

George Russell has revealed that he is set to speak with Mercedes after disagreeing with the strategy he was placed on for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The Briton started the seventh round of the season from pole position and led the opening stages before eventual race winner Lewis Hamilton caused Mercedes a strategic headache.

Hamilton started on the soft tyres and pitted early, committing to a three-stop strategy. It prompted the Silver Arrows to respond immediately by bringing Russell in on the following lap.

However, when the seven-time world champion made his second stop, Mercedes did not react, leaving Russell vulnerable to Hamilton in the closing stages.

Hamilton was set to have significantly fresher tyres than the King's Lynn-born driver towards the end of the race, with Russell committed to a two-stop strategy. This gave the Ferrari driver a strong chance of reducing what would likely have been a 15-second deficit.

In the end, Hamilton did not need to hunt Russell down. Shortly after both Mercedes drivers had made their second stops, a virtual safety car allowed the Ferrari driver to make his third pit stop and emerge in the lead.

Russell had fallen to third in the closing laps after being overtaken by Kimi Antonelli, but a surprise late retirement for his team-mate promoted him back to second.

While it represents a much-needed result after a difficult run of races, Russell remains unsure why Mercedes did not commit to its own strategy.

"Obviously, Lewis probably would have come back through anyway, but without a virtual safety car, he would have pitted behind us," Russell told Sky F1. "Who knows what would have happened?

"I was just struggling towards the end of the stints. I need to review why that was. In the first stint, I felt very comfortable on the on the medium tyre. I felt we pitted really early. Lewis committed to a three stop and I think we should have committed to our own strategy.

"It’s something I want to pick up with the team because I was managing quite a lot at the start and still eking that gap out to Lewis.

"I thought we actually converted to a three and when they told me we’re staying on for two, that was a challenge."

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