Maaaaaaybe...but Wolff could have come over the radio and said that the change of tyres wasn't on. So yes, it benefited Russell (hell, Merc have done this plenty of times to benefit Hamilton in the past) but the team supported it.The initiative which George took benefited George and George only which is obviously sub-optimal for the team and denied them any chance of a victory. Anyone watching (and I'm sure Lewis too) at the time knew if they were going to have a go at a victory it was essential to have a buffer to Verstappen at the restart.