George Russell claim that he had “no harsh feelings” about Mercedes’ use of team orders at the F1 Japan Grand Prix.

Russell was ordered to let teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was on fresher tires after his second stop, pass as they battled for fifth place with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the final stages of Sunday’s race at Suzuka.

Russell initially questioned the decision and suggested copying the strategy Sainz used in the previous round in Singapore: “Why not reverse the situation in the last round and he just stays in DRS like last week unless he fights for better results?

But Mercedes dismissed Russell’s appeal and replied:
“So that’s the instructions, George, change positions.”

When asked if he agreed with the team’s order to swap positions, Russell replied:
“Yeah, sure. You use the radio as a pain valve because it’s hot in the car, it’s a long race, you’re out there pushing for an hour and a half, you’re fighting for every square inch .” . “The main target is to finish P2 in the Constructors’ Championship. For me the Drivers’ Championship is completely out of reach, Lewis has what it takes to fight for a place good mind.”

“But the goal is just to finish ahead of Ferrari this season and keep working hard next year, so I have no problem at all.”

Russell added:
“Of course, it is difficult for the team to evaluate. But like I said, I have a goal myself, which is to finish P2 in the constructors’ championship for the team.

“Lewis has had a really solid season this year. He is in contention for P3 in the drivers’ championship.

“Worst case, we lose two more points there. But we would have had four points less, so when you take the average, the team made the right choice.

“And on my part, there are no hard feelings. As I said, we have to work on the car and we won’t be sad about the possibility of losing fifth and sixth to the fifth and seventh .”

Russell also said he had no complaints about the way Hamilton fought him, saying he considered their duel a “good, tough race”. “It was just a tough and fair race,” he explained. “Of course, we lost a bit of time as we battled each other and again we were a bit disappointed on the radio but that’s just part of racing.”