Mercedes got it “very wrong” but will Hamilton DSQ force conservative approach?

Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were excluded from second and sixth place respectively after their cars were found to have excessively worn planks and be in breach of the F1 technical regulations. 

Mercedes technical director James Allison said the team were left “embarrassed” by Hamilton’s disqualification, which ruined their strongest race performance of the season. 

But Russell does not foresee a repeat of Mercedes’ plank wear woes at this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.

Asked if Mercedes will take more of a conservative approach at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the Briton replied: “I think it's a very different to obviously the one session in Austin.

“We did all of the standard checks after FP1 and the plank looked absolutely fine. So there was no reason after the practice session to make any changes, but obviously, we got that very wrong. 

“I expect the nature of this circuit to be naturally more conservative and with the three practice sessions I don't foresee any any issues.” 

Russell finished seventh in Austin but was promoted to fifth after Hamilton and Leclerc’s disqualifications. 

Having been unable to match the performance level of his teammate despite running Mercedes’ upgraded floor, Russell has now revealed that he was forced to manage fuel during Sunday’s race. 

“Definitely the upgrades were performing really well,” Russell said. “And I think that was clear with with the performance.

“We had some limitations on my side, I had not enough fuel and was having to manage the fuel for half the race. So that really put me on the back foot. 

“But the last stint, we just sort of went through it and the pace was probably the strongest strongest out there, which definitely bodes well for the end of the season.”