George Russell spoke about Mercedes’ decision to apply team orders during the Dutch GP of Formula 1, saying he agreed to let Kimi Antonelli pass this Sunday (23).
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The Briton started from the front row in Zandvoort, but was quickly overtaken by his teammate and remained third for most of the race. It was only during the virtual safety car near the end of the race, when the Italian went to the pits, that Russell took second place with very old tires.
Therefore, Mercedes opted for the team order and asked the championship leader to regain the position, while Lando Norris was comfortable in first and Lewis Hamilton was closing in on the podium. “It was a difficult start for me, obviously losing the position [to Antonelli]. Those two [Norris and Antonelli] were very fast at the start; then, Lando was exceptionally fast in the final part of the race,” he said.
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“It was hard to hold the position with those worn tires. I’m happy to be here on the podium, because the result could have been different.”
When asked how he felt about letting Antonelli pass, Russell replied that “Kimi was ahead of me anyway, so he deserved to finish in front. Of course, during the race, you want to fight for every position. With new tires, he would have made the overtake anyway, so it was the right decision. I’m just happy to be on the podium. It had been a while since I last went up there; it was a solid weekend overall.”
