Russell buoyed by improved pace, Hamilton hindered by floor damage
After securing his second career victory, Mercedes driver George Russell has praised the Brackley-based outfit for having implemented enormous improvements to the W15 in recent weeks.
Mercedes has been locked in a fight with Ferrari for the majority of the Austrian Grand Prix with George Russell emerging as the fastest of the quartet.
The two teams were unable to keep up with the leading duo of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the opening stages of the race, but Russell was on course to take P3 in the race. However, the leading duo came together on Lap 64 which enabled the Mercedes man to take over the lead and secure his second career victory.
Commenting on his team's first victory since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, Russell noted: “Incredible! That’s the only way I can describe it. We had a tough fight in the early stages to make sure we held on to P3. That would prove crucial at the end.
“I could see that Max (Verstappen) and Lando (Norris) were having a big battle. We were only just over 10 seconds behind the pair of them, which is really encouraging pace-wise.
“I knew there was a possibility that they could come together, even if it was only a slim chance. You have to be there at the end to pick up the pieces and that’s exactly where we were. I am so proud to be back on the top step of the podium.
Expanding on the improvements Mercedes has achieved over the course of the past rounds, the now two-time F1 race winner said: “The team have done an amazing job to get us closer to the fight at the front. We have made so many strides since the start of the season.
“The last few races have been great and hopefully there is more to come. It’s no secret that Max and Lando are a little bit ahead of us at present but we’re now consistently putting ourselves in that third position.
“It’s an exciting time for us; we’re riding a bit of a wave, and I can’t wait to go to my home race at Silverstone next week and see what we can do there,” concluded Russell.
His team-mate Lewis Hamilton was downbeat about his own performance after crossing the line three places and 23 seconds behind his younger team mate. However, his lack of pace was not down to his own mistake, but the huge damage the right-hand side of his W15's sidepod sustained at the start of the race.
“Congratulations to George and the team. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth really deserves this result. They have worked so hard to bring performance to the car and we are starting to get us closer and closer to the very front.
"We put in so much effort so to get a result like this is a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts.
“From my side, it wasn’t the cleanest weekend. I picked up some damage early on and that compromised my race, unfortunately. We now look ahead to Silverstone."
“It is always such a special weekend, and I can’t wait to see all the fans there. It is a track that should hopefully suit us a little better than here in Austria so let’s see what we can do," said Hamilton.
