George Russell led his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to the checkered flag for the pair to grab third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Russell’s first campaign with the Silver Arrows now consists of eight top-five finishes in eight races, including three finishes of third place, coming at Australia, Spain and now Azerbaijan.
Russell qualified in fifth place behind the Red Bull and Ferrari duos and maintained this standing when the lights went out. Hamilton, likewise, held his starting position of seventh through the opening laps.
Russell easily inherited third place as both Ferrari’s retired early with sudden mechanical failures.
On the other side of the garage, Hamilton’s pit strategy left the seven-time champion in traffic, running as low as 10th place during the race’s first half. But as the Mercedes strategy played out, Hamilton quietly picked his way around the likes of Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo to slot into fourth place.
“As we said before, you’ve got to be there at the end to pick up the pieces,” Russell told Naomi Schiff in parc ferme.
“The cars are going through a torrid time with the bouncing, and … yeah, pleased to bring it home in p3.”
Short and sweet will do for the most consistent man on the grid.
Through these first eight races, Russell’s average finish sits at a reliable fourth place, while Hamilton’s average finish is seventh to this point.
While certainly not the pace the team is used to, having both cars score points in the last four races is a clear contrast to the pace Mercedes started the season with.
As such, this result will be a welcomed performance for Mercedes, as their pace deficit compared to recent years has drawn ample attention, particularly regarding their persistent porpoising issues.
Team principal Toto Wolff noted this matter to Hamilton as the Briton climbed from his car looking visibly uncomfortable.
“Lewis, we all know that this is a bit of a…
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