Russell drove “too cautiously” in first lap F1 battle with Hamilton

Russell started second, but after giving space to Hamilton he emerged from the opening sequence of corners on the first lap in fourth place, a position he still held at the end of the race.

The Briton admitted that recent frustrations, including his first corner collision with Carlos Sainz in Austin, encouraged him to take a careful approach, especially when battling with his team-mate.

“I knew I wouldn’t have been able to overtake Max [Verstappen] on the…