Lewis Hamilton & George Russell Left to Battle It Out As Mercedes Wash Their Hands Off Responsibility With Firm Statement

The Mercedes AMG F1 team has surprised everyone with their pace in Brazil. The German team took everyone aback and challenged the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. As the Silver Arrows drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell take on their potential contenders in the race, the team has left them on their own.

After a brilliant show by Hamilton and Russell, the Silver Arrows give the charge in the hands of their respective drivers. Giving no drivers any impetus over another, Mercedes has left it up to them.

When asked if they’ll be free to race each other, Russell conveyed during the FIA press conference, “There definitely won’t be any team orders.”

The former Williams driver further stated, “But I think between the two of us we will definitely be strategic to try and get that win for the team. Sitting here right now, we probably don’t know what the right strategy is going to be. So, you know, we’ll race each other fairly, for sure.”

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Earlier, Hamilton always had an upper hand over Valtteri Bottas in Mercedes. This was not the case before though, with Nico Rosberg. With Russell in the team, it is highly unlikely to be repeated anytime soon.

Lewis Hamilton agrees with George Russell about team orders

Mercedes star driver Lewis Hamilton also shared his thoughts ahead of the race in Brazil. Hamilton stated that he would be happy with the correct team order in a fair race with his young teammate. A 1-2 finish will be the perfect result for the team, he believes.

Talking about this, the Briton shared, “I think I’ll just say that getting a one-two either way, I’m going to be a happy person, just because of how hard everybody’s worked.”

A 1-2 in Brazil means Mercedes will close their gap on Ferrari for P2 in the constructors’ championship.

Statistically speaking, Hamilton has been the second-best to Russell all season. The veteran Mercedes driver trails his younger teammate by 15 points after 20 rounds [except Sprint in Brazil]. Hamilton is in P5 in the driver’s standings while Russell is in P4.

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Russell, who won the last sprint of the 2022 F1 season, starts Sunday’s race from P1. His teammate Hamilton starts beside him, making 1-2 starts after a long time for the German team. As the race approaches, it’ll be interesting to see if anyone of them can finally pick up the first Mercedes win of the season.