Russell: 'Anyone else than Hamilton I'd probably have run off the road'

On the opening lap of the Mexican Grand Prix, George Russell dropped from the second starting position to fourth after a fight with Lewis Hamilton forced him to swerve, losing another place to Sergio Perez. Russell says that if it wasn't for his teammate, he "probably would have driven him off the track".

Russell: 'If it was anyone else I'd have run him off the road'

Russell acknowledges he has had a couple of 'scrappy' races. In the Mexico GP, he quickly realised that overtaking Max Verstappen at the start was not going to work, so it was all about defending his second place. "Going into turn one, I knew I wouldn't be able to overtake Max around the outside," he said in conversation with Sky Sports.

His older teammate forced him to go wide, which meant Russell immediately lost his third spot to Perez. The 24-year-old Briton suggests he might have handled the first lap differently had it not been Hamilton with whom he was engaged in a duel. "When I had Lewis there, probably if it was anyone else but my team-mate, I'd have just ran him off the road," he admits.

The events of the first few corners saw Russell quickly see his hopes of a podium finish dashed. He got stuck behind Perez, which quickly widened the gap to Verstappen. He eventually finished the race 49 seconds behind, after making a late pit stop to take the fastest lap away from Perez.