Lewis Hamilton has agreed with George Russell that Mercedes’ strategy at the Japanese Grand Prix was below average, before insisting he was “not in contention” with his teammate in the championship.
The two men were involved in a huge battle on the track throughout the race, causing many to change positions and at times get a bit heated.
This was especially true when Hamilton appeared to push Russell off the track as the two battled for sixth and seventh near the start of the race.
To try to improve the team’s overall results, Mercedes decided to put Russell on a one-stop strategy, pushing him away from his team-mate and allowing him to place himself between the McLarens and Ferraris. Hamilton turned around and bit Russell
As the laps passed, Russell’s tires began to fail, causing several cars to pass him and towards the end of the race the two were once again fighting for positions.
Mercedes decided it would be better to allow Hamilton to pass Russell because the seven-time world champion was on fresher tires and was more capable of fighting Ferrari.
However, the team was deemed to have left too late and by the time they changed cars, Carlos Sainz was behind Russell.
Russell lost out, eventually finishing seventh while Hamilton took fifth to extend his lead over his teammate in the standings.
It was not a perfect day for the whole team,” he told Sky Sports Italia. “I think we should have switched positions if we wanted to win against Ferrari. George is quite far behind me in the championship so I won’t fight him. We should have worked together to win a lot more points.”