Russell warns it would be "pretty stupid" to bet against Hamilton

George Russell believes people would be "pretty stupid" to bet against Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for this year's F1 title following his scintillating victory at the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Hamilton started the last F1 sprint event of the year at Interlagos in 20th but rose through the field to take a stunning victory in the grand prix on Sunday.

The result cut the gap between the seven-time champion and championship leader Max Verstappen to just 14 points with three races to go.

Russell, who joins forces with Hamilton at Mercedes from next season, warned against counting out his future team-mate just yet.

"I have been saying it for a long, long time when Max and Red Bull seemed to have the upper hand, you would be pretty stupid to bet against Lewis and Mercedes," insisted Russell.

"Last weekend has proven that. The fact they are still in this fight is pretty exceptional and what Lewis did last week was also exceptional.

"Excited to be racing alongside Lewis next year. It will be a great opportunity for me."

Williams must avoid "preconceived ideas" in Qatar

F1 arrives at the Losail International Circuit for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix this weekend with Williams hoping to turn around its fortunes.

Despite a scoring spree for Russell and Nicholas Latifi, the team has failed to score in four races and was uncompetitive in Mexico and Brazil.

"We have definitely dropped off a little bit but if you look at the season as a whole, the last two races probably would not have suited our car with the natural characteristics it has," explained Russell.

On Williams' prospects in Qatar, he added: "We do hope this will play slightly more in our favour but nevertheless, we are at a new circuit, new challenges, drivers having to learn and teams having to learn and there will be a lot of unknowns for us all.

"Just being alive to the situation and making sure you don't go in with too many preconceived ideas and making sure you are able to adapt will be key to this weekend."

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