Lewis Hamilton has been accused of using ‘naughty’ tactics in battling George Russell at the Mexican Grand Prix. The 39-year-old started the race behind his Mercedes teammate, but overtook him on the first lap.
Russell restored the status quo shortly afterwards but was made to work for it by Hamilton, who was never going to go down without a fight. He moved sharply on the approach to Turn One in an attempt to defend his position, something Damon Hill was not impressed by.
The one-time world champion suggested that Hamilton’s aggressive tactics were a ‘little bit naughty’ while discussing the incident on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
Hill made the comment while making the point that former drivers should be invited to advise the stewards on certain decisions which could prove controversial.
“Drivers were originally brought in to help stewards make decisions on driving issues which they had very little experience or knowledge of,” said Hill.
“The idea was to bring in drivers who had raced at that level and were able to say: ‘When I look at that, I think it’s right or wrong’. Those drivers who were enlisted to help the stewards became stewards themselves so now they’re bound by all the other regulations and jobs the stewards have.
“They are now just the same as the other stewards. If it was just a driver looking at that, say Martin Brundle, they would say: ‘No, that’s not right’.
“We can apply that to Lewis’ late change of direction when he was being passed by George. I have to say, I saw that and I thought it was a little bit naughty.”
Hamilton went on to overtake Russell in the closing stages of the race to secure a fourth-placed finish, with his Mercedes team-mate coming home in fifth.
Reflecting on their battles after the chequered flag, Hamilton said: “I don’t think either of us are silly. George is really smart and fair and he’s just really good at where he places his car, and I think for me too.
“So when [the team] comes on the radio and says to keep it clean, it’s like: ‘Of course’. It’s not really different to when you’re fighting anyone else, except for it is your team-mate, so you have to be double careful because you both want to finish.”
Russell seemed to have no issue with Hamilton’s style of defending, saying: “It was nice to have the battle and it’s always good when you fight with Lewis because it’s hard and fair.”
