Russell: 'We'll adapt to whatever the weather throws at us'

George Russell says Mercedes will deal with whatever the heavens send its way in Sao Paulo this weekend, but the Briton is hopeful of a good showing in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Rain has often been a factor in the past at Interlagos and current forecasts are predicting a downpour on all three days of the race weekend.

Mercedes heads into its Brazilian weekend on the back of strong performances in Austin and in Mexico City that saw Lewis Hamilton claim the runner-up spot behind race winner Max Verstappen at both venues, where Russell finished P5 and P4.

While Red Bull remains unassailable, Russell reckons Mercedes can once again challenge and perhaps defeat Ferrari which was comprehensively outpaced by its two rivals last time out in Mexico.

• Read also: Mercedes aiming to uphold its 'momentum' in Brazil

"Austin was good, Mexico was very strong in terms of performance," Russell said. "Unfortunately, the result wasn’t quite there for us.

"Here will probably be somewhere in between. The key one is Ferrari, they’re more of an unknown at the moment.

"Their performance seems a bit inconsistent. Mexico was a really bizarre weekend, how far off the pace they were.

"For sure you can be confident that Red Bull will have a strong package and will be the team to beat. For us, we’ll try to do our best to adapt to whatever the weather throws at us."

With two races to go in this year's campaign, Russell is already taking stock of his maiden season with Mercedes and of the unique opportunity of working alongside his prestigious teammate whom he leads in the Driver's standings by 15 points.

"It’s been a unique experience for me, having Lewis as my team-mate," said the 24-year-old. "A lot to learn from and see how he approaches his business and works with the team.

"I think we’ve had a really good, open and transparent relationship and that’s helped us push the team forward. We’re on the same page when it comes to a lot of things.

"Hopefully, he can continue to grow that and ultimately we’re both pushing as hard as we can to get a race car that can fight for championships."

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