During the safety car period produced by Valtteri Bottas’ failed Alfa Romeo, Russell took the opportunity to make his own decisions and requested a set of soft tires to complete the final stages of the race.
Running second at the time, Russell conceded the place to race winner Max Verstappen as Hamilton stayed clear of the mediums used, ultimately costing him the lead as Verstappen stalked the Briton around the corner 14 and went to the end of the straight.
Russell then caught and passed Hamilton before lap 64 but was inches away from touching his team-mate’s rear as he crossed the slipstream to place his W13 on the inside at Turn 1.
It was, according to the Norfolk native, a moment of confusion between the two as they tried to anticipate each other’s moves.
“Obviously with that I would say with Lewis we just had a bit of a mix up and I came out just like he defended,” Russell explained.
“It could have been a bit mean, but we have respect between the two of us, so it’s fine.”
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG, 2nd position, after the race
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Russell also clarified his view on Mercedes’ strategy amidst the safety car, believing the team’s best chance of securing a victory at Zandvoort was to split their tactics and hedge their bets.
Although Russell felt it was a tough call and Hamilton’s performance ultimately deserved a podium place, he said the result could have been very different had the medium tires been allowed to start.
“I think as a team it was an incredibly difficult decision because if we had both pitted we would have conceded the position to Max. If we had both stayed out, we probably would have both lost to Max as well,” Russell explained.
“The best chance we had as a team to win was to split the cars, one to stay ahead of Max, one to stay behind and see what happened.
“Whether [Hamilton] could have just had those tires restarted, it could have been different, but it was still going to be very, very difficult for him.
“I’m sure Lewis wanted to go; as a racing driver and where we are right now as a team, we want to win. We’re obviously very happy with the points, just being consistent to get them. appear on the board.
“But in the end nobody remembers who finished second in the championship, so we want to win a race.”
