It will not have helped Russell that, on the day Kimi Antonelli got over the line in Mexico City, the Brit suffered one of his worst days of the year. A strong qualifying result – he was just 0.009 seconds off pole on Saturday, remember – ruined within seconds of the lights going out.

That software issue in his engine which caused problems earlier in the year struck again, leaving Russell down on power on the opening lap which saw him drop down the order like a stone. In the melee, he tagged the back of Isack Hadjar's Red Bull, sending it into a spin and earning a 10-second time penalty.

Such was Russell's exasperation that, though he began to complain on the radio, he quickly thought better of it and said: "I'm going to shut the f*** up." Because what was the point? He had seen this movie before, and there was never a happy ending for him.

When the chequered flag flew and Antonelli's world champion status was confirmed, the anguish felt by Russell will have been as powerful as the emotion experienced by his title-winning team-mate. Possibly stronger – we humans have the annoying habit of tending to feel pain more acutely than joy.

So it was great to see that, as Antonelli parked his Mercedes in the stadium section of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and took the acclaim of the crowd, his colleagues and rivals, Russell was among those who came to congratulate him first. A hug and a handshake for his team-mate, and also the Italian's parents and sister who were there to mark the occasion.

Russell was, though, conspicuous by his absence from both the media pen and the Mercedes title celebrations which went on into the night. As Mercedes staff gathered in the pit lane for full team photos and the spraying of champagne, it was sad to see that Russell, as a key member of the Silver Arrows setup, could not find the strength to take part.

Understandable, yes. Still, this was the one night that Russell should probably have stuck around, even though it would have been painful. This was a win for the whole team, the first time Mercedes have won the drivers' championship since 2020. Plus, a scan back through recent history shows that, actually, a team-mate does tend to stick around for the festivities.

Oscar Piastri is in the McLaren team photos from Abu Dhabi last December, after Lando Norris secured the title. Sergio Perez joined Max Verstappen's title celebrations in Las Vegas a year earlier, though admittedly he wasn't a direct rival for glory. But even going back to 2016, at the end of an at-times bitter duel, Lewis Hamilton stuck around for the photos to mark Nico Rosberg's crowning achievement.

This time, Russell could not bring himself to do it. He decided to spare himself the pain, and that is a respectable choice. But it left Mercedes a very important man light as they confirmed that they truly are back on their perch.