Russell demands Mercedes F1 "clarity" as Hamilton outshines him again

01 November 2023 , 09:07

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George Russell (Image: Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images)

George Russell insists he is "not too worried" after being outshone by Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Russell finished sixth after starting the race in eighth and admitted he was "very lucky" to hold off a late challenge from AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton, meanwhile, came second in Mexico City behind reigning champion Max Verstappen.

Since the season resumed after the summer break, Russell has only beaten Hamilton in one race where they both have finished, the Italian Grand Prix. And Russell says he wants "clarity" from his team after a braking issue affected him in Mexico and a fuel problem hindered him in Texas the week before.

"It was like driving on ice for the last 15 laps, which was a pretty miserable feeling and I was very lucky to finish P6," Russell said after the race. "We were strong here last year, we qualified on the front row and probably should have had a podium last year.

"We've definitely performed well, but this weekend has been about tyres as it has been for everyone. Qualifying was a total surprise for many teams, for good or bad, but I'm hopeful Brazil won't be that sensitive [on tyres].

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"I'm not too worried because of the reason behind [the deficit to Hamilton]. It's been two race weekends in a row, two different reasons.

"Last time [in the United States] it was the fuel [saving] which lost the tyres, this weekend it was the brakes. We need some clarity."

Lewis Hamilton finished second behind Max Verstappen at the Mexican Grand Prix (AFP via Getty Images)

Hamilton, meanwhile, was delighted with his performance and admitted he can't wait to get to Brazil for the next race. "It's a great result considering we started from P6 and amazing day for the team," Hamilton said.

"We pushed hard and I'm proud of the whole team for all their work. It's been a difficult couple of weeks for us so it's great to finally bounce back. The car felt much better today, and the pace was strong. Today was about the balance of the car and managing the tyres and we managed to do that well.

"We dug really deep this weekend to improve the set-up and get it right and the result today shows the hard work everyone in the team has put in to achieve that. Now I can't wait to get to Brazil and hopefully continue with the strong pace of the car."

Matthew Cooper