George Russell brands fourth-place finish ‘not too bad’ at Spa
29th August 2022Mercedes’ George Russell has branded his fourth-place finish as ‘not too bad,’ as he just missed out on a podium finish at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps.
Russell was the only Mercedes left out on track, after the opening lap, after Sir Lewis Hamilton came together with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso into Les Combes. The first DNF of the season for the seven-time world champion.
The Mercedes looked to be on course for a third, consecutive, podium appearance following two third place finishes in France and Hungary.
As the chequered flag fell, the #63 Mercedes was just two-seconds shy of another podium appearance as he finished behind Ferrari’s leading Spaniard, Carlos Sainz.
In a statement, Russell said:
“I have mixed feelings right now because had you told me last night we will be two seconds off the podium on merit and pure pace, I’d have said that’s a good recovery.
“When I was closing in on Carlos at the end, a second a lap, I thought here we go – we’re in for a really good shot here. But then I just had two really scrappy laps and got the tyres out of the window.
“When the tyres are in that sweet spot, the car is transformed but as soon as I lost them, I knew the podium was game-over.
“Overall, considering where we were, P4 and two seconds off the podium – not too bad.
“Today our race pace was probably better than the Ferraris; Carlos started on pole, was leading the first stint and we closed him in both times.
“So at worst, I think we were equal with Ferrari today, but as we know, it’s swings and roundabouts. What is clear is, Max is cruising away at the moment.”
The young Briton started the Belgian GP fifth, alongside Hamilton who started fourth, after engine penalties were applied for a number of drivers.
Russell managed to put in a decent, second stint on the medium compound tyres. This allowed the Briton to create a tyre advantage over Sainz in the dying laps of the race.
Despite a late charge to secure a podium spot, at the end of the race, the Mercedes driver ran out of life in his Pirelli’s and had to settle for fourth place.
Russell is yet to see the chequered flag in a position that is lower than fifth place.
That’s it for the article: George Russell brands fourth-place ‘a good recovery!’ What do you think, will Mercedes find a way to battle those out in front this season? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula 1 here!
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- Belgian GP: Sainz on pole after Verstappen penalty
- Belgian GP: Perez sets fastest time at end of FP3
- Belgium GP FP1: Sainz heads Ferrari 1-2 in Spa
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
