Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes’ request for him to help George Russell by keeping him in DRS range during the closing stages of the F1 Japanese Grand Prix “made no sense”.
The seven-time world champion, on a two-stop strategy, found himself chasing down his one-stopping Mercedes teammate in the final stages of Sunday’s race at Suzuka amid a battle to seal fifth place., who like Hamilton was two-stopping and had fresher tyres.
Despite following the order, Sainz was still able to overtake Russell before putting Hamilton under pressure in the final few laps."I don't think that was a good idea at all," Hamilton said."When they suggested it to me, I knew that they had obviously thought of it from the last race, and it made no sense.
Hamilton added:"We should have swapped around earlier and I should have got as far ahead as possible to keep the gap as big as I could to the Ferrari. "What's important is one of us finishes ahead of the Ferrari to keep the position [in the constructors' championship]. So today we really needed to work as a team."
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