CMO 2022 Problem 3

Let $n \geq 2$ be an integer. Initially, the number 1 is written $n$ times on a board. Every minute, Vishal picks two numbers written on the board, say $a$ and $b$, erases them, and writes either $a+b$ or $\min \left\{a^{2}, b^{2}\right\}$. After $n-1$ minutes there is one number left on the board. Let the largest possible value for this final number be $f(n)$. Prove that

$$2^{n / 3}<f(n) \leq 3^{n / 3}$$