Russell: With higher temperatures, we thought we may struggle

Russell took his and Mercedes' first win in the 2025 Formula 1 season on Sunday, starting from pole and beating Max Verstappen, who tried all he could to deny the Briton his fourth win in the top flight.

Mercedes are known to struggle in hot conditions, which was the case during the Canadian Grand Prix around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but surprisingly, it was the Red Bull Racing RB21 that chewed up its tyres, while the W16 managed them better.

As such, Russell was in a good position throughout the 70-lap race and did not put any foot wrong to take the win, and commenting on the race, he said: "I am really pleased to take the team's first victory of the season.

"I felt in control throughout and was able to manage the race to bring home the win. With the slightly higher temperatures, we thought we may struggle a little more than we saw on Friday. We did a good job of managing the tyres though and had the pace to hold off the chasing pack.

"A big well done and thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth and a massive congratulations to Kimi on taking his first of what I am sure will be many podiums," he added.

Mercedes have been working on their car, with many pointing out that the new rear suspension on the W16 may have sorted out their tyre degradation issues, but Russell insists on remaining grounded.

"We look to have made a step forward with our car in recent races," Russell went on. "We have typically gone well in Montreal, though, and we knew this race would likely suit us a little more than others.

"We can't get ahead of ourselves as there is still plenty of work for us to do to get into the fight for victories more regularly. I am looking forward to trying to do that next time out in Austria," he concluded.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff hailed his lead driver—who is yet to sign a contract extension beyond this season—and said: "George was absolutely faultless at the front.

"He controlled the race throughout and didn't put a foot wrong. It was another assured performance of which we have seen many so far this season.

"He was quick on both compounds and didn't come under threat after the first corner," he pointed out.

Echoing Russell's sentiments about the W16's performance in Montreal, Wolff added: "We've taken a positive forward step this weekend.

"The track temperature today was nearly 50°C but we managed to look after the tyres well and combine that with good pace. We know that there is more for us to do for this to be a consistent level of performance each and every race.

"That is what we are focused on doing though and we look forward to the upcoming races to continue that momentum," the Austrian concluded.