Hamilton twice battled wheel-to-wheel with Mercedes teammate Ru𒀰ssell on his way to finishing fifth at Suzuka, while the younger Briton came home seventh after gambling on the alternative one-sto🍨p strategy. 

The pair nearly collided during a duel that saw both run wide at Spoon, prompting a fieꦡsty radio message from Russell, who asked “are we fighting each other or the others?”.&𓆉nbsp;

🃏In the closing stages, Mercedes instructed Russell to move aside for Hamilton, who was charging through the field on fresher tyres, leaving the former unhappy. 

“If you want to play the team game… he pushed me off the track earlier,” a frustrated Ru🧸ssell said on the radio. 

Speaking after the race, ex-F1 driver Chandhok noted clear tension between the Mercedes du⭕o. ꦦ;

“He [Hamilton] is 75 points ahead of George. He was quite quick to point that out!” 🎉Chandhok told Sky.

“There was needle with George. There is a little bit of needlꦍe between t🤡he two drivers.” 

On Russell’s strategy, Chandhok said: “He did✅n’t have too much to lose at𒀰 that point. 

“If he did the two-stop which everyone else didꦏ, he would have ended up in the same place. 

“He was ahead of Alonso, they tried a gamble, he ended up ahead of Aloಞnso. It was worth a punt, they finishe൩d seventh which is where they would have been anyway.” 

1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill saidꦬ of Russell: “He’s smarting. Don’t forget what happened in Singapore, he dropped a load of points there. 

“He can see Lewis has gone way ahead in the driver’s championship. He wants a good ✨result. 

“Two-stop, one-stop, hꦰe probably would have ended with the same result, and he has to suck 🎶that up.”