Russell: I was meant to be flying out tonight, not anymore!

Russell became the seventh different race winner following a dominant victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Starting from pole after setting the fastest time in Qualifying, the Briton maintained the lead into the first corner and never looked back. He eventually crossed the line over seven seconds ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, who also drove a stellar race from P10 to secure a Mercedes one-two.

The spotlight was on Red Bull's Max Verstappen after the Grand Prix however, as the Dutchman claimed a fourth consecutive Drivers' Championship by finishing ahead of Lando Norris' McLaren. With 63 points between the pair, it is mathematically impossible for Verstappen's place at the top of the Standings to be toppled.

Meanwhile, the Constructors' Championship is still an open affair with three teams in a position to finish the season in P1. McLaren lead Ferrari by just 24 points, while Red Bull are a further 30 points behind. Mercedes have to settle for P4 in the Championship, but will nonetheless celebrate a fourth Grand Prix victory in 2024.

Russell, who was not expecting to be quite as competitive in Las Vegas as he was, has had to make some last-minute cancellations to ensure he can properly enjoy the achievement with his team.

In a press release published by Mercedes, Russell was overjoyed to get his first proper win of 2024. Despite crossing the line first at the Belgian Grand Prix, the 26-year-old was subsequently disqualified for having an underweight car.

He said: "To win in Las Vegas feels incredible! I'm so thankful for the team and happy for them that we got this win. We had great pace throughout and we were comfortable in the lead.

"You are always thinking that something might happen though, such as a safety car, but it was clean throughout. It was almost a perfect weekend as we took pole position, led almost every lap and took the 1-2. It was great to be up on the podium with Lewis; he drove a fantastic race to come through from P10. We couldn't ask for more," stated Russell.

The Mercedes driver is keen to analyse exactly why he and the team were so quick around the streets of Las Vegas, so they can replicate their performance at the remaining two Grands Prix. He continued: "I was meant to be flying out of here tonight but that's not going to happen now! We will enjoy this night as a team as everyone deserves it.

"We will then sit down on Monday and go through the data to understand why we were so quick this weekend. Hopefully that can help us as we go into the final two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi," concluded the Briton.

The Qatar Grand Prix will commence Sunday 1 December at 16:00 GMT (19:00 local time).