Russell doesn’t ‘care who’s in front’ when it’s P5 at stake

George Russell doesn’t care which of the Mercedes team-mates is in front, but that’s when it comes to “fifth and sixth place”.

Handed a shot at a podium finish in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, the Mercedes team-mates elevated up the order when Max Verstappen retired, Russell was running just ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The latter, it initially seemed, wasn’t overly impressed with the situation.

A radio message from Hamilton to the pit wall said: “You guys put me in a really difficult position.”

The assumption was that he had to been told not to attack Russell for the final podium place, Hamilton later denying that his message had anything to do with that.

Rather, he says, he was telling the team that he wasn’t happy that his overheating engine meant he could not join Russell in trying to chase down Sergio Perez for a potential double point finish for Mercedes.

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The race ended with Russell up in third place, his first podium as a Mercedes driver, while Hamilton was fourth, taking the chequered flag a handful of second after his team-mate.

First podium with @MercedesAMGF1! Strong team result today and P2 in both Championships. Big shout-out to everyone at Brackley & Brixworth. Let's keep pushing. pic.twitter.com/VyeTe5tzhS

— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) April 10, 2022

Russell was asked about the situation, telling F1-Insider.com