Mercedes faced a headache over how to handle George Russell and Lewis Hamilton's battle at Suzuka, particularly with Carlos Sainz closing in.
Revealed: The hidden influence behind Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s Suzuka swapMercedes faced a headache over how to handle George Russell and Lewis Hamilton’s battle at Suzuka, particularly with Carlos Sainz closing in.
However, in the closing stages, with Hamilton on fresh hards after pitting again on Lap 34, he and the pursuing Carlos Sainz rapidly caught up on Russell. But would Russell be eager to help out Hamilton after their escapades earlier? But, even with DRS, Russell was eaten up by Sainz down the pit straight, while Hamilton hung on up ahead to stay clear of the Spaniard.
During those tense moments with Russell pleading his case, PlanetF1.com understands it was Wolff who made the final call to get Hamilton in front of Russell and try to stay clear of Sainz – clearly fearing the Ferrari managing to get past both cars.
“When we were looking at it earlier in the race, we were projecting some better upside that we could maybe do quite well, if the others weren’t able to overtake later on,” Shovlin explained.
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