David Coulthard saw Mercedes mechanics’ controversial tactic from commentary box window in Austria

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Mercedes used an underhand tactic in their battle with Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix, David Coulthard says.

The race developed into a head-to-head between Verstappen and leader George Russell, with Kimi Antonelli an outsider.

Verstappen made his second stop later than Russell to generate a tyre offset, but his charge ultimately came up 1.6 seconds short.

George Russell wins the Austrian Grand Prix! What was your main takeaway from the race?

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David Coulthard thinks Mercedes crew deliberately obstructed Max Verstappen

When Verstappen made that second stop on lap 50, it initially seemed as if Mercedes might call Antonelli in from third as well. Both crews were out on the pit lane.

In the end, it was only Verstappen who boxed, but Coulthard saw from the commentary box window that Mercedes, in the garage immediately before, made his turn-in angle as tight as possible.

While this only made a ‘slight’ difference, the battle between the two drivers was forecast to be extremely close at the time. This may have been typical pit lane gamesmanship, but it wouldn’t carry a penalty.

“I just observed something out in the pit lane,” Coulthard said on F1TV. “Normally, when you’re in the middle of the pit lane, if the box before you isn’t pitting, [out of] courtesy, they pull back the airlines.

“Mercedes sent their crew out into the pit box, Antonelli didn’t show like he was coming in, and then of course, they were slowly pulling their tyres and mechanics back into the box as Verstappen had to go around them into his box.

“It’s all fair, but it just meant [it was] slightly slower.”

Fellow commentator Jolyon Palmer added: “You lose a little bit of time, peeling in, making an extra corner, going around the Mercedes crew. They’re in their right to be there.

“Antonelli would have pitted, I think, had Verstappen not, because he would have been in undercut range.”

Given that Red Bull’s Austrian GP upgrade, primarily aimed at reducing weight, appeared to work so well, Mercedes can expect Verstappen to threaten their dominance on a more consistent basis. This was the first time he had finished in the top two all year.

Indeed, on pace alone, Verstappen should have won the race, but a qualifying crash, a divisive Russell pole lap denied him and a potentially sub-optimal strategy denied him.