Russell: We will go past this, everything will be OK

Attempting to overtake Russell on the first lap of the race in Qatar on Sunday night, trying to make use of the extra grip his Soft tyres gave him, Hamilton closed in on his teammate from the outside line, the latter having to where to go with Max Verstappen on the right.

The inevitable happened, Hamilton's rear right tyre got tangled in Russell's car, sending both Black arrows into a spin, and while the #63 car managed to get back to the pits for fresh tyres and continue racing, it was game over for car #44.

On the spot, both drivers accused each other of being at fault, but it was clear that Hamilton shouldered the blame for this one, something he graciously admitted afterwards apologizing to his team and teammate.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Russell rued the missed opportunity of a podium finish, he said: "We both had the possibility of standing on the podium.

"Obviously nothing intentional both ways. These cars are so difficult to see when you are racing - there's big blind spots," he justified.

"We both have so much respect for one another. We will go past this and I'm sure we will speak and everything will be OK," he insisted.

While Hamilton started the race on Soft tyres, Russell was on a different strategy with Medium tyres, which meant the former was naturally going to have a better start.

Russell admitted that scenario was discussed before the race, he said: "We spoke about it. From our side, I said this morning, I just want us both to be standing on that podium.

"My goal now is to try and get P2 for the team (in the constructors' championship)," he went on. "We spoke about Lewis getting ahead at Turn 1. It was just a very difficult situation.

Later in Mercedes' post-race press release, Russell tried to focus on the positives while reflecting on a physically tough race, he said: "There are still lots of positives to take away from this weekend though.

"Our goal is to get P2 in the Constructors' and we managed to outscore Ferrari this weekend. Our pace was very strong too so we can be confident going into these final five races.

"The Grand Prix itself was incredibly tough," Russell added. "It was by far the most physical race I've ever competed. It was like being inside an oven! I was pretty happy to see the chequered flag."

While Mercedes Team Boss Toto Wolff was absent due to his knee surgery, the team's Chief Communication Officer, Bradley Lord, gave the team's official take on the Hamilton/Russell crash.

"Worst possible start and the worst possible thing that can happen for a race team to see your two cars collide," Lord began. "For sure, on Lap 1 with George at the back and Lewis in the gravel, things didn't look brilliant at all.

"To turn that around with George in P4 and outscoring Ferrari on an afternoon was not something we could have hoped for once we were one lap into the race.

"What might have been is clear to see. We were right on the pace of the McLarens, probably not within striking distance of Max, but there's a double podium that could have been today," the Mercedes executive lamented.

"Ifs, buts and maybes don't really count in this sport, so we will take what we have got and be happy with that, but it could have been so much more," Lord concluded.

Mercedes managed to increase their advantage over Ferrari in the 2023 F1 Constructors' Championship by eight points, as Russell finished ahead of Charles Leclerc who was the only Ferrari driver taking part in the Grand Prix, a Carlos Sainz withdrew due to a fuel system problem.