George Russell has “zero hard feelings” about Mercedes F1 team order to swap positions with Lewis Hamilton | F1

The one-stopping Russell was instructed to let teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was running fresher tyres after making a second stop, through as they battled over fifth place with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the closing stages of Sunday’s race at Suzuka. Russell initially questioned the call and suggested copying the tactic used by Sainz at the previous round in Singapore, “Why don’t we invert on the last lap and he just stays in DRS like last week unless he’s fighting for a bigger result?”But Mercedes rebuffed Russell’s plea, responding: “So it’s an instruction George, swap positions”.Asked if he accepted the team order…

Jump the start

Download The Racing News Online Android App