Russell Cheers Mercedes' Stunning Race Lead

Mercedes Leads Again, Russell Lauds Turnaround

19/07/2024

Russell celebrates as Mercedes tops the last four races, marking a dramatic shift in their F1 performance.

George Russell will not face penalties for his engine failure in Great Britain, as the team withdrew him due to a lack of water, but the power unit was not damaged. The Mercedes F1 driver confirms the car will continue with this engine.

“Fortunately, the engine was saved and we will use it,” Russell assures. “I think we will use the same engine this weekend to be honest. But yes, it was just a water leak, the engine wasn’t getting enough water. The team realized this by the second or third lap of the race, temperatures were getting hotter and we were losing power.”

Russell is impressed by his team’s progress since the latest updates. The Brit remains optimistic but recognizes that performance can vary from race to race, depending on the tracks.

“It’s really exciting for all of us. If you had told us at the beginning of the year that we would go to Hungary fighting for three consecutive victories, we wouldn’t have believed it. We have led the last four races since the update, which is an incredible turnaround for us.”

“Everyone is very motivated. But there are no guarantees for the next two race weekends. I think in the last four, we undoubtedly had the fastest car in qualifying in two of them, and the fastest car in the race in two of them.”

“However, in Austria and Barcelona, we were 10 to 20 seconds behind Max and Lando, so we need to see where we stand this weekend. But, yes, we are very excited about what lies ahead.”

“Trying to win as many races as possible”

Russell has no hopes of shining in the championship and explains that the goal will be to win races: “Max is far ahead, and Lando is in a quite solid second position. But I think our goal for the rest of the year is to try to win as many races as possible.”

“Of course, we have significantly closed the gap. We had two very good races in the last four. But when you look closer, Max still won two of these races, finished second in another, and should have finished second in Austria.”

“These guys also haven’t had a bad run of performances, so we are undoubtedly closer than ever. We just need to see this race weekend, and at Spa, I think if we have two good race weekends here, we will be fast everywhere.”

The winner of the Austrian Grand Prix details why he and Lewis Hamilton are faster. Confidence is indeed back in the cockpits of the W15, thanks to these latest parts added.

“And I think the way the car behaves now, we both have a lot more confidence in the car, we can push it closer to its limits. Now, the tires feel better when we race, we can manage them more easily.”

“This slight improvement has turned into something significant in terms of lap time, because we can exploit the car more and that’s the most important thing, having that confidence in ourselves. The most important thing is that we have stayed united as a team. Everyone has pulled together.”

“There has been no major change in the organization of Mercedes. It’s important to recognize Toto’s merit in believing in his employees and giving them the chance to do what they do best. I think that’s what distinguishes this team from many others. So far, it seems we have done a very good job.”

Russell Cheers Mercedes' Stunning Race Lead

Russell Cheers Mercedes’ Stunning Race Lead Russell Cheers Mercedes’ Stunning Race Lead

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
Go toTop