George Russell would have been ultra-happy had he finished third in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, instead he leaves Red Bull Ring as the winner of the 37th edition of the race after the two leaders took themselves out.
Once could say 'it ain't over until the Nasty Boy throws his toys out of the pram' of the race in Austria today, Max Verstappen bullying and then taking out Lando Norris, left the top step (and the second for that matter) of the podium up for grabs to next best man on the day.
That man was Russell. Again getting the better of his illustrious teammate Lewis Hamilton, the 26-year-old Englishman kept his cool despite Oscar Piastri with a very fast McLaren in close attendance as they crossed the finish line. Sure he inherited the victory, but that's racing.
After his second Grand Prix victory Sunday, only the second of the current F1 rules era for Mercedes, Russell commented: "Incredible, it was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold onto that P3 and I saw on the TV Max and Lando getting pretty hard. I knew Lando would want to get that race win.
“I couldn’t believe how close were to Max and Lando, it was a possibility, you are always dreaming but as I said you are so proud to be back on the top step. The team have worked so hard, they’ve made so many strides since the start of the season. The last two races have been incredible so more to come.”
Russell: We are riding a bit of a wave at the moment
On being the 2024 Austrian GP winner, Russell said: “It’s no secret with Red Bull and Max, and McLaren with Lando are still a little bit out in front. But we are always putting ourselves in that third-place position in the last couple of races. If anything happens up front, we will then pick it up. What an exciting time for us.”
The win comes ahead of the British Grand Prix up next and last of this triple header, Russell's home race and a prospect he relishes: “We are riding a bit of a wave at the moment, these last three races have been incredible. I think realistically we probably could have won the race in Canada but this makes up for one too many mistakes on my side."
In p3 driving the other Mercedes, Hamilton acknowledged his teammate's victory: "Congratulations to George and the team. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth really deserves this result.
"They have worked so hard to bring performance to the car and we are starting to get us closer and closer to the very front. We put in so much effort so to get a result like this is a well-deserved reward for everyone's efforts."
As for his own race, the seven-time F1 World Champion Hamilton summed up: "From my side, it wasn't the cleanest weekend. I picked up some damage early on and that compromised my race, unfortunately.
"We now look ahead to Silverstone. It is always such a special weekend, and I can't wait to see all the fans there. It is a track that should hopefully suit us a little better than here in Austria so let's see what we can do.
Wolff: It was a third-place on pace
After a race that turned tense in the final quarter, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said in the team review: "George did a fantastic job throughout the race to keep himself within touching distance of the front two. It was a third place on pace, and we would have been pleased with that as it highlights the progress we continue to make.
"We did think there could be a chance for more though with the battle ahead and we were able to take advantage of that," stated Wolff, who was clearly delighted in Parc Ferme by the unexpected win.
Mercedes trackside boss Andrew Shovlin added: "We'll allow ourselves to enjoy the win; it's been a while! A big well done to George and the whole team across Brackley and Brixworth. We know fine well we have more work to do before we can take victory on merit.
"It's taken a lot of effort and determination from the team to get us to a point where we are regularly fighting for podiums. That is what put us in a position to benefit from Max and Lando's misfortune," concluded Shovlin.
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