“The Last 10 Laps of the Race…”: Mercedes Rookie George Russell Sums Up the Brazilian GP Emotional Rollercoaster While Reflecting on Lewis Hamilton’s Charge

Mercedes’ season was all but lost. They had a dreadful campaign marred with porpoising and a relatively slower straight-line speed. However, just when all hope seemed lost, George Russell pulled out a rabbit from his hat and won the Brazilian GP. Lewis Hamilton finished the race P2 to clinch Mercedes’ only 1-2 of the season.

George Russell has been one of the few positives for the Silver Arrows this season. He was also termed Mr. Consistency due to his constant knack for finishing at higher positions with their poor car. The former Williams driver impressed many people with his rookie season for Mercedes.

Moreover, the boy from King’s Lynn revealed his thought process while leading the Brazilian GP this season. Russell beat Hamilton after leading the race for most parts of it. George told the media including The Race, “The last 10 laps I knew if I make one mistake here, he’ll be in DRS and who knows what will happen? I can’t afford to manage the tires, I just need to absolutely go for it.”

He further added, “The last 10 laps of that race were 100 times harder than what the first 60 laps were. I could do the first 60 laps every weekend, but those last 10 laps, the pace is so high and you just cannot afford a mistake.”

READ MORE: “Just a Part of Being a Mercedes Driver”: Dream F1 Seat Comes at a Heavy Cost for Silver Arrows Star George Russell

Mercedes fought back in the second half of the season valiantly. Moreover, team boss Toto Wolff would be proud of the way his two drivers handled the situation throughout this year.

Lewis Hamilton does not think his relationship with George Russell will be a “problem” in Mercedes

George Russell became just the third teammate after Jenson Button (2011) and Nico Rosberg (2016) to beat Lewis Hamilton. However, Lewis was all supportive of his teammate and congratulated him for a stellar season. Moreover, Lewis does not think that the relationship between him and Russell will be a problem in the future.

Hamilton said to the reporters, “I’m a lot older and I’ve been with the team so long. So managing whatever challenges we come up with moving forward, we’ve been through so much that I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

The Mercedes star even acknowledged Russell’s brilliant work at Williams Racing and praised his consistency since joining the Brackley-based team.

The 103-race winner added, “I’ve seen what he did at Williams. I think naturally you have to say it’s impressive what he’s done this year, the consistency he’s had, how he’s arrived and just hit the ground running.”

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Can Lewis and George build on a superb second half of the season and come back fighting next year? Or will Max Verstappen and Red Bull will run away with the title yet again?