Russell: I was glad when I saw the chequered flag

Russell missed his media duties on Thursday as he wasn't feeling well, but he didn't get much better as the weekend progressed.

He qualified fifth after Saturday's hectic qualifying, with teammate Kimi Antonelli bettering him to fourth, but the Briton then retook the initiative to finish on the podium while the Italian was fourth.

Speaking in Mercedes' post-race report, Russell said: "I am really happy to be back on the podium. It's been a tough run of races recently, and I also have not felt well this weekend.

"That made today even more challenging than it could have been, so I am very pleased to finish P2. I was pretty glad when I saw the chequered flag!

"On our side, the car felt great throughout, and Kimi did a superb job to bring home P4 too," he went on. "That is important points for the team as we look to battle Ferrari and Red Bull for second in the Constructors' Championship.

"Hopefully we can build on this result over what is sure to be a tight battle across the final seven races of the season," Russell concluded.

Antonelli, after Toto Wolff's brutal assessment of his race in Monza, delivered a decent performance this weekend in Baku to finish fourth.

"Today was a much better Grand Prix than I've had in recent races," the Mercedes rookie said. "That said, I am still slightly disappointed that I wasn't able to get myself on the podium.

"We were closing in on Carlos [Sainz] in the final few laps, but I just couldn't quite find the pace to get within DRS range and then attempt an overtake.

"Whilst I was hoping for more, today was still a decent result, and with George in second, a good day for us as a team.

"We gained a lot of points on Ferrari, which is a positive, and moved back into second in the Constructors' Championship.

"The pace across the field is tight, but hopefully we can carry the momentum from here in Baku into Singapore in two weeks' time," Antonelli concluded.

Summing up his team's weekend in Baku, Wolff said: "That was a strong weekend for us as a team, and we come away from Azerbaijan with a good result.

"It felt good to get back on the podium in P2 and for Kimi to bring home solid points in P4. Of course, we are always hoping to be on the top step of the podium, but this gives us some positive momentum after two difficult races after the summer break.

"Congratulations to Carlos [Sainz], James [Vowles], and Williams on their P3 too. That was totally earned on merit.

"Kimi did what he could to get close enough to attack, but their pace was a bit too strong. Kimi nevertheless did a great job to get past [Liam] Lawson; we saw how several cars, such as the Ferrari of Leclerc and the Red Bull of Tsunoda, were unable to do so when they were in DRS range.

"He will use this weekend to take momentum into the final seven races," the Austrian said of his protégé, adding: "George, meanwhile, drove a fantastic race; he's been suffering with illness all weekend, and it was touch-and-go whether he'd even be able to drive on Friday and Saturday.

"It was a big push from him, and to perform like this was mega," he concluded.

Mercedes' result in Baku meant they are now four points ahead of Ferrari in the 2025 Formula 1 Constructors' Championship.