Russell expects no team orders, Merc to split strategy

Russell and Hamilton will share the front row of the Interlagos grid for Sunday’s grand prix after Russell caught and passed Max Verstappen to win the F1 sprint race, with Hamilton recovering to third behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who will drop five positions for an engine change. 

The Briton said Mercedes find themselves in a “luxury position” and expects the team to split strategies in a bid to end their winless streak amid a challenging 2022 season. 

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“There definitely won’t be any team orders but between the two of us, we will definitely be strategic to try and get that win,” Russell said. 

“As we saw in Mexico, we both did the same strategy and it ultimately affected us both. Sitting here right now, we probably don’t know what the right strategy will be. 

“We will race each other fairly for sure and I’m sure we will probably be splitting the strategies to try and cover all options. 

“Hopefully one of us comes away happy tomorrow. But I think we recognise, based on recent experiences, we’re probably going to have to go two separate ways.”

Russell claimed P1 and eight points for winning the third and final sprint race of the year following a thrilling battle with Verstappen. 

After two unsuccessful attempts at overtaking Verstappen, Russell finally blasted past the world champion on the run to Turn 4 with 10 laps remaining. 

Russell’s charge to his first F1 win was aided by starting on soft tyres, while Verstappen was one of only two drivers who favoured mediums. 

“I think we were confident that we could finish second, and we thought Max would probably have quite an easy run, to be honest,” he added. 

“He knew that if we weren’t ahead of him at Turn 1 it was going to be very difficult to stay ahead of him. I started attacking in the early laps and thought, once he gets some temperature in his tyres, he’ll be away. 

“As much as I wanted to win this race today, it’s only [eight extra points] and it’s obviously setting you up [on the grid] for tomorrow. 

“So, you have to be a little bit careful and I knew Max has got nothing to lose, so he was going to be driving aggressively. Definitely, it was pleasing to get the move done in the end.”