George Russell frustrated by Mercedes’ slow response on team orders in F1 Mexico GP. George Russell described the Mexico City GP as “frustrating,”.

It was a “frustrating” race for George Russell, who strongly criticized Mercedes’ handling of team orders at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The British driver believes Mercedes could have secured a podium in Mexico, but a delayed swap with teammate Kimi Antonelli prevented him from challenging the cars ahead.

Team orders delayed

For much of the 71-lap race, tension ran high. On lap 35, George Russell asked the team to swap positions with Antonelli, who was ahead of him. The team did not impose any orders, allowing the drivers to battle freely. However, on the following lap, Mercedes asked Russell to manage his brakes, which risked slowing him down. “We have a Ferrari and a Haas ahead. We can fight for the podium!” the #63 insisted.

The tension grew on lap 38, when the team continued to ignore his requests. George Russell sarcastically remarked: “Do you want me to let this McLaren pass?” He later clarified: “I’m happy to give the position back to Kimi if I can’t pass Bearman. We’re just compromising both of our races, guys.”

Rising frustration

George Russell’s race engineer, Marcus Dudley, informed him that track temperatures were rising. George Russell replied, “Marcus, I have a f***ing faster car in front of me. I’m trying to hold position. I have much more pace than Kimi here and we can fight for the podium. I’m happy to swap if we can’t do it.”

The position swap finally happened on lap 41, but by then it was too late. George Russell could not catch the cars ahead and had to return the place to Antonelli. “I had a very strong pace in those laps and could have attacked Ollie, who didn’t have DRS. Obviously, I was in the DRS train behind Kimi. I think we fell behind for about ten laps,” George Russell explained to Sky Sports F1 after the race.

“By that point, my tires were overheating. The brakes were overheating. The engine was overheating. So, at that point, it made no sense to attempt it. You either do it immediately or not at all. In the end, we deserved the result we got. A bit frustrating,” he concluded.