Russell’s No Man’s Land: Beaten by Verstappen & McLaren

Russell’s No Man’s Land: Beaten by Verstappen & McLaren

16/03/2025

George Russell secured a solid P3 in Melbourne, stuck between McLaren and Verstappen’s pace, but smart strategy calls helped Mercedes shine.

Quietly efficient as always, George Russell secured a strong third-place finish all the way from the other side of the world in Melbourne, kicking off his F1 season on the podium.

The Mercedes driver knew he didn’t have the pace to match McLaren or Max Verstappen, but he was still satisfied with his performance, making the most of his opportunities.

“Yeah, honestly, today was all about staying out of trouble. From the start, it was clear that those guys (McLaren and Verstappen) were too quick for us, while we had an edge over Ferrari. So, I found myself in a bit of a no man’s land.”

“Early on, I decided that the best approach was simply to bring the car home. Taking more risks wouldn’t have changed anything, because the leaders were too far ahead. It was a tough race.”

“As Lando said, even the smallest mistake would have been costly. But I’m happy with this result, especially since this track isn’t necessarily one of our strengths. And considering the extreme heat yesterday, I was pleased with fourth place in qualifying too.”

The Right Call at the Right Time

How did Russell and Mercedes manage to time their pit stop so well? What was the process with his race engineer and strategist?

“To be honest, the process started this morning. We had great discussions about how we’d make these calls, what they needed from me, and what I needed from them.”

“I knew the rain would get heavier, so the final decision was mine. Like Lando, I called the pit stop about five seconds in advance, and the team was ready to go. That was a key moment in the race.”

Crisis Management Pays Off

Like McLaren, Mercedes seems to have focused on improving their decision-making in tricky conditions over the winter—and it paid off.

“I’m really happy about that because mixed-condition races—both for Lando and me—haven’t gone our way recently. If you look at Brazil last year, we got the strategy wrong. In Montreal too, we let the race slip away. So today, getting it right and finishing on the podium is a great result.”

Mercedes’ Smart Call: How Russell Secured P3 in Chaos

Mercedes’ Smart Call: How Russell Secured P3 in Chaos Mercedes’ Smart Call: How Russell Secured P3 in Chaos

Race Center
China Flag
Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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