Lewis Hamilton and George Russell spent much of Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix battling one another. Russell was quicker in qualifying, but Hamilton finished ahead. The former Williams driver extended his Saturday advantage to 15-5 as he led Mercedes’ third-row lock-out.

They perhaps benefitted from Oscar Piastri’s shocking Q1 exit, with Lando Norris showing contending pace in the other McLaren. Hamilton passed Russell at the start of the race, but the 26-year-old stayed within DRS range of his teammate. He was able to get back past before the one and only pit-stop window.

Photo by Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty ImagesThe Silver Arrows duo gained a place thanks to Max Verstappen’s 20-second penalty, setting up a battle for fourth. After Russell picked up front-wing damage, Hamilton began to reel him in. The seven-time world champion faced a commendable defensive effort, but he was finally able to get past around the outside into turn one six laps from the end of the race.

It was the first time he’d finished ahead of Russell since the Italian GP on 1 September. He extended his advantage over his compatriot in the standings to 12 points ahead of the final four races. Hamilton is, of course, preparing to leave for Ferrari at the end of the year.

Toto Wolff’s message to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell before Mexican Grand PrixSpeaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Esteban Gutierrez shared Toto Wolff’s warning to his two drivers before the race. He knew a wheel-to-wheel tussle was likely given their starting positions. Gutierrez, who formerly raced for Sauber and Haas in F1, has been with Mercedes as a reserve, simulator and development driver since 2018.

That means he’s seen the relationship between the British pair develop over the last three years. He says the Mercedes garage remained relaxed because they treat each other with ‘respect’ on track. Hamilton and Russell have only once collided during a race – the start of last year’s Qatar GP.

Gutierrez said: “There was never a concern. I think Toto manages that part really well. He’s a great team principal to put very neutral positions between both drivers and say ‘okay guys, we’re a team, we need to make sure we bring both cars back home’.

Asked if he’d said that before the race in Mexico, Gutierrez replied: “Yes, of course. He’s always reminding drivers how important it is not to crash, not to touch each other and to race fairly. He doesn’t really want to hinder the competition between the drivers, but there’s certainly a limit of respect that has to be taken into account.

”Toto Wolff warned George Russell about one ‘late move’Speaking to Motorsport. com, team principal Wolff said there was only one moment where Russell was too aggressive. He felt that the two-time race-winner moved slightly too late on the straight in his defence.

Hamilton had done something earlier in the race as he unsuccessfully tried to fend off Russell into turn one. But Wolff says he was never concerned. “They are so good and so experienced that we allow the racing,” he said.

“There was not a feeling where I thought it’s getting a bit hairy. “I think we made the call to George at the end, where it was clear that Lewis was the faster car, to maybe [tell him] that one defence on the straight was a bit of a late move. But I don’t have any doubts in the two.

”Mercedes won’t bring any new upgrades before the end of the season, which could prevent them from winning any more races. That’s after successive crashes from Russell in the USA and Mexico put them in danger of breaching the cost cap.