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Russell: I will sleep well tonight

Jad Mallak

Russell: I will sleep well tonightGeorge Russell took another superb podium for Mercedes, third in the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and admits he will sleep well after such a brutal race.

George Russell has validated yet again the decision of Mercedes to hand him the drive of a Silver Arrow on 2022, as he was at his best in Baku, maximizing his chanced for points, and with Ferrari imploding, the young Briton was ready to pounce and take another important podium in his young Formula 1 career.

However it was no easy feat, as he also suffered from the bouncing which his W13 has a knack for, Russell reflected on that in his post race team report.

“We were smashing the ground every single corner and every lap for 90 mins, it was pretty brutal – I’ll sleep well tonight!” he said.

Despite expressing his worry about the safety of his car, the podium in Baku gave Russell a more optimistic perspective on matters.

“It’s what we’ve got to deal with it at the moment, there’s not much we can do in the short-term,” he admitted. “There’s lots of intelligent people, hugely talented engineers in the sport so I’m sure we’ll find a solution.

“We didn’t get the podium on pure pace today but we did it because the team have worked very hard to deliver a reliable car, we did a good job to be ahead of the midfield and obviously we picked up on Ferrari’s misfortune.

Russell trying to focus on the positives

“As a team, we take that as a positive and kudos to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth on all the hard work. We know we aren’t quick enough and we’ve got a long way to go to bring performance.

“We’re experimenting and trying things, one week turnaround to Montreal will be tough to find the solution but hopefully we’ll get there soon,” the 24-year-old concluded.

Lewis Hamilton finished the race fourth behind Russell, and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted that the strong team result was down to Ferrari’s misery around the streets of Baku.

“This is where we are at the moment – not as quick as the front runners but clear of the midfield,” he said in the team report.

“We never enjoy our rivals’ misfortune, we want to see a strong fight at the front and we’re hoping to catch up and join so there’s six of us there fighting,” he added.

“A strong job from George today, he managed the race and took his podium well,” the Austrian concluded.