George Russell caught a vital breath of air after the São Paulo Grand Prix, reclaiming ground in the fight for second place in the championship, as Motorsport.com Brasil reports. The battle remains wide open now that the FIA has confirmed both the Qatar Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi on the calendar.
Following the race at Interlagos, where he crossed the line in fourth place after Andrea Kimi Antonelli handed the position over to his teammate in the closing laps, Russell holds 262 points. That puts him just a single point ahead of Lewis Hamilton and 17 points behind Max Verstappen.
And we need to think about what we are going to do regarding that. But there is the possibility of giving him all our support.
The British driver's campaign has faced steep hurdles due to all the problems encountered by the #63 car throughout the season. Those struggles ultimately allowed Antonelli to wrap up the title all the way back in Mexico City.
Once the team celebrated their constructors' title at Interlagos, Toto Wolff faced questions regarding how Mercedes plans to handle the final three rounds of the calendar in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, particularly concerning potential team orders between their drivers. The head of the Brackley squad admitted he had "not yet thought" about the championship standings, yet he firmly maintains that Russell remains firmly in the hunt for the runner-up spot and the team must factor that result into their plans.
"Clearly, he is in the fight... We want him to score as many points as possible and, hopefully, finish in second place," Wolff explained.
"And we need to think about what we are going to do regarding that. But there is the possibility of giving him all our support."
F1
F1
