Russell and Hamilton 'to go separate ways' to end Mercedes drought

Sam Hall
Sunday 13 November 2022 10:33

George Russell has suggested he and Lewis Hamilton will have 'to go their separate ways' in a bid to end Mercedes' win drought in the São Paulo Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old will line up at the front of the grid for Sunday's Interlagos race, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton alongside him following a superb performance from the duo in the 100-kilometre sprint.

Mercedes trail Ferrari by 36 points in the battle to finish second in the constructors' standings but is without a win so far this season.

Team principal Toto Wolff recently claimed a victory would mean more than toppling the Scuderia.

Motivation for both drivers to top the podium is also high, with Russell chasing his maiden F1 victory and Hamilton, who was awarded honorary Brazilian citizenship this week, seeking to avoid the first winless season of his career.

"There definitely won't be any team orders," ruled Russell.

"But between the two of us, we will definitely be strategic to try and get that win for the team. As we saw in Mexico, we both did the same strategy and ultimately it affected us both."

Conceding he 'probably doesn't know what the right strategy is' for the race, Russell added: "We'll race each other fairly, for sure.

"I'm sure we'll probably be splitting the strategies to try and cover all options and hopefully one of us comes away happy.

"We both recognise, based on recent experience, we're probably going to have to go two separate ways."