George Russell addresses late Mercedes Zandvoort team orders

George Russell addressed Mercedes' late use of team orders in the Dutch Grand Prix, as he agreed that it was fair to let Kimi Antonelli overtake.

Russell started on the front row in Zandvoort but was immediately overtaken by Antonelli before spending the majority of the race in third.

However, following a late Virtual Safety Car, under which Antonelli opted to pit, Russell moved into second on much older hard tyres.

The Silver Arrows used team orders to allow the championship leader to retake second place, while Lando Norris was a comfortable distance ahead in the lead.

Third could easily have been fourth for Russell, who did well to keep a rapid Lewis Hamilton behind in the closing laps.

"It was a difficult start for me, obviously losing the position [to Antonelli]," said Russell. "These two [Norris and Antonelli] were very quick at the beginning then Lando was exceptionally fast towards the end of the race.

"It was tough to hold on on those old tyres. Happy to be standing here on the podium because it could have gone either way."

By letting Antonelli past and following team orders Russell has slipped back to 59 points behind, undoing his Sprint win.

Asked how he felt letting Antonelli past, Russell replied: "Kimi was ahead of me anyway so he deserved to finish ahead. Of course when you're in the race, you want to fight for every single position.

"With the new tyres, he would have overtaken anyway so it was the right decision. Just happy to be standing on the podium. It's been a little while for me and a strong weekend overall."