Lewis Hamilton, George Russell’s Mercedes teammate, finished second in the Mexican Grand Prix, behind Max Verstappen. Russell said he was “very lucky” to finish sixth.
Following his defeat at the Mexican Grand Prix by Lewis Hamilton, his Mercedes teammate, George Russell maintains he is “not too worried.”
Russell, who started the race in eighth place and finished sixth, said he was “very lucky” to stave off a late challenge from Daniel Ricciardo of AlphaTauri. In Mexico City, Hamilton trailed the current champion, Max Verstappen, by a point.
Russell and Hamilton have only finished together in one race since the season returned from summer break—the Italian Grand Prix. Russell also states that he is looking for “clarity” from his team following two setbacks the previous week: a fuel issue in Texas and a braking issue in Mexico.
“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].
“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.”
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 worked really hard, and I’m pleased with the entire team’s effort. It’s wonderful to finally be getting better because the past few weeks have been challenging for us. Today the car felt lot better, and the speed was high. We did a good job of controlling the tyres and maintaining the car’s balance today.
We worked really hard over the weekend to perfect the setup, and today’s outcome demonstrates the effort that each member of the team put forth to make that happen. I’m eager to travel to Brazil and hopefully maintain the fast speed of the vehicle.”
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