Russell rejects Hamilton’s claim he got ‘lucky’ with Saudi Arabia setup choice

Russell came away from Jeddah as the lead Mercedes driver, out-qualifying and out-racing his more experienced teammate.

After the race, Hamilton blamed his setup choice, taking a swipe at Russell by claiming “he’s usually wrong”.

The seven-time world champion said: “We work on that. There was like a 50-50 choice. I chose one way and he chose another. 

“More often than not, the way he went is the wrong one. But it just happened to work. 

"So I could only match his pace than be quicker this weekend. But I’ll work hard to make sure we are in a better place next time.” 

Speaking to the media on Thursday in Melbourne, Russell was asked about Hamilton’s post-race comments.

Russell insisted that “luck” wasn’t a factor, pointing towards his detailed preparation ahead of the race weekend.

“I don’t think there’s any luck in it at all,” Russell said. “It’s down to the preparation you put in before the event and the changes we made overnight. 

“I knew that was going to be the right direction with the work we did with the team and I believed it was going to be better than the setup Lewis opted for. I think everybody has different preferences.

“I was happy with the direction I took and the work I am doing with the engineers.”

Hamilton sits two points clear of Russell in the drivers’ championship after the opening two rounds of F1 2023.