george william russell – Artifex.News https://artifex.news Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Mon, 02 Dec 2024 02:45:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://artifex.news/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cropped-cropped-app-logo-32x32.png george william russell – Artifex.News https://artifex.news 32 32 Max Verstappen ‘Surprised And Disappointed’ By George Russell https://artifex.news/max-verstappen-surprised-and-disappointed-by-george-russell-7151552/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 02:45:35 +0000 https://artifex.news/max-verstappen-surprised-and-disappointed-by-george-russell-7151552/ Read More “Max Verstappen ‘Surprised And Disappointed’ By George Russell” »

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Max Verstappen made clear his feelings about George Russell’s actions leading to him being stripped of pole position when he spoke out after winning Sunday’s chaotic Qatar Grand Prix. The newly-crowned four-time world champion said he felt “surprised and disappointed” by the Mercedes driver’s attempt to see him penalised after an incident during qualifying at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday. “I was surprised and disappointed in the stewards’ room,” said Verstappen. “I have been in there many times, of course, but I have never before seen someone trying to screw someone else over that hard.”

Speaking to reporters after winning Sunday’s race, Verstappen had explained that he had been trying “to be nice” in slowing down on his lap in qualifying and did nothing deliberate to upset Russell. 

The pair had enjoyed a good relationship until this incident which Verstappen made clear had changed his view. 

“I was just trying to be nice and maybe that is not the way to be,” he said. “But I am not surprised by anything anymore in this business.”

Russell had complained that Verstappen’s driving was dangerous on Saturday when he slowed on track ahead of him, causing him to take evasive action. 

The outcome of his complaint was a stewards’ investigation and Verstappen being stripped of his pole position — his one place demotion gifting his rival his career fifth pole. 

But the Mercedes driver was unable to take advantage of his position at the start of the race when a determined Verstappen made a blistering start and then stormed to a classic flawless win. 

His race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase referred to the stewards’ decision and penalty during Verstappen’s slow down lap after winning. 

“Karma is a wonderful thing,” he said. “You definitely did not drive unnecessarily slowly today. Great job.”

The Dutch driver responded by praising the Red Bull team. 

“Simply lovely, guys. Yes, yes, yes. What an unbelievable race again. That was really fun!”

After finishing eighth in Saturday’s sprint race, he and Red Bull performed a spectacular turnaround to win on Sunday, claiming his ninth victory of the season. 

“It was a very good race,” he said. “Of course, yesterday in qualifying the car was a lot better and today that first stint was very, very fast. Lando and I were within 1.8 seconds of each other the whole time, pushing each other and honestly, it was a lot of fun out there.

“This track has a lot of grip and this year the tyres were really holding on, so that was a lot of fun to be really pushing the tyre. We went really long on that first stint. After that there were a few Safety Car moments that you had to take care of, but I’m very happy.

“It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive, and very proud of everyone in the team to turn it around within a day. So they definitely also deserve this victory.”

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George Russell On Pole As Max Verstappen Given Grid Penalty For Qatar Grand Prix https://artifex.news/george-russell-on-pole-as-max-verstappen-given-grid-penalty-for-qatar-grand-prix-7145648/ Sun, 01 Dec 2024 04:56:58 +0000 https://artifex.news/george-russell-on-pole-as-max-verstappen-given-grid-penalty-for-qatar-grand-prix-7145648/ Read More “George Russell On Pole As Max Verstappen Given Grid Penalty For Qatar Grand Prix” »

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Newly-crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen has been stripped of pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix for impeding Mercedes driver George Russell in qualifying on Saturday. Red Bull’s Verstappen was given a one-place grid penalty for blocking Russell with the British driver starting on pole instead of the Dutchman. Hours after Verstappen claimed his first pole position for five months a one-place penalty was imposed for driving unnecessarily slowly, a manouevre that pushed Russell into the gravel. The Red Bull driver clocked the fastest lap in one minute and 20.520 seconds and Russell was originally second for Mercedes just 0.055 seconds adrift.

But the British driver cried foul immediately.

“Super-dangerous by Verstappen,” said the Mercedes driver, whose thoughts prompted the stewards to investigate. 

“I ended up going through the gravel and all over the floor it felt like it was scraping,” said Russell. 

McLaren’s Lando Norris remains third while sprint-race winner Oscar Piastri of McLaren was fourth with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the third row along with Lewis Hamilton in sixth for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Norris admitted his disappointment at missing out on a front row start. 

“It’s not what we hoped for, but it was the maximum we could do. My lap was pretty good, but not quick enough.”

Hamilton, set for Ferrari next year, finished sixth, admitting: “I don’t really care. I just want to get through these races, do my job, turn up and look forward to the winter break.” 

After the early laps, Verstappen led before Russell went top in 1:21.519, a time that was seven-tenths quicker than Hamilton’s best as he struggled to extract matching pace on his way to ninth. 

With four minutes to go, Russell offered Hamilton a tow which lifted him to sixth, 0.118 off the pace in a tight field before Russell trimmed two-tenths off his best lap in 1:21.241, beating Leclerc by 0.037 with Sainz third ahead of Norris.  

Out went Alex Albon and his Williams team-mate Franco Colapinto along with Liam Lawson of RB, Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. 

Russell began Q3 in the same style, clocking 1:21.161, but his top spot was quickly taken by Verstappen in 1:21.085, Red Bull’s set-up changes, following the sprint, paying dividends.

On his second run, Russell improved to go top again by 0.001 seconds, but it was not enough in improving conditions to resist a revitalised Verstappen, or Norris, who clocked 1:20.983. 

It looked solid for McLaren, but in a final flurry of laps Verstappen went top in 1:20.687 with Hamilton rising to fifth, within 0.026 of Russell in fourth, and Alonso and Magnussen claiming top ten spots. 

The ‘top 10 shootout’ began with Russell topping the pile in 1:20.575 ahead of Leclerc on their opening runs when Norris ran off at Turn Five and failed to clock a time before Verstappen slotted into second. 

This left McLaren in need of a strong late lap in the final seconds as they all ran again and Verstappen, against his own forecasts, finished ahead of Russell and Norris for what looked like his first pole since the Austrian Grand Prix in June.

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George Russell On Pole Position At Las Vegas Grand Prix, Max Verstappen Ahead Of Lando Norris https://artifex.news/george-russell-on-pole-position-at-las-vegas-grand-prix-max-verstappen-ahead-of-lando-norris-7086973/ Sat, 23 Nov 2024 09:56:38 +0000 https://artifex.news/george-russell-on-pole-position-at-las-vegas-grand-prix-max-verstappen-ahead-of-lando-norris-7086973/ Read More “George Russell On Pole Position At Las Vegas Grand Prix, Max Verstappen Ahead Of Lando Norris” »

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George Russell of Mercedes took pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Friday while title-chasing Max Verstappen was fifth as the Dutchman closes in on a fourth successive world championship. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was second ahead of Pierre Gasly of Alpine with Red Bull’s Verstappen finishing one spot ahead of title rival Lando Norris of McLaren who was sixth. Verstappen, who won the Las Vegas race in 2023, leads Norris by 62 points with three races remaining and needs simply to finish ahead of him on Saturday night to become only the sixth man to win four world titles.

Norris has to beat Verstappen by three points to keep his slim championship hopes alive.

“At least we are ahead of the McLarens. I didn’t expect that so it’s good,” said Verstappen, hampered by Red Bull’s error in bring the wrong rear wing to Las Vegas.

“We’re just a bit too slow. We have been struggling to get the tyres to work over a lap and we’re too slow on the straights.”

Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, was fourth fastest in qualifying and will share the second row with Gasly whose impressive performance on the Las Vegas street circuit followed a shock third-place finish in Brazil last time out.

Yuki Tsunoda of RB was seventh with Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg in a Haas and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes completing the top 10.

Russell clocked a best lap in one minute and 32.312 seconds to outpace Sainz by 0.098 seconds for his third pole this year the fourth of his career.

“It feels incredible to be back on pole,” said Russell, who clipped a wall in the third and final qualifying run.

“I had a bit of a moment on my first run and we had to change the front wing so for a while I didn’t think we were going to make the flag, but I am just so happy.”

Norris felt the “top four was out of reach” for him.

“But I will keep going to the end and will do my best in every race whether I am fighting for the championship or not.”

Colapinto crash

On a cool night in America’s gambling capital, with a track temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, it was Gasly who set the pace as the rest slithered in early pursuit.

Having been quickest in the earlier final free practice, Russell topped Q1 ahead of Hamilton.

Unfortunately for Red Bull, Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez’s miserable season continued as he was eliminated along with Aston Martin’s two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, Williams’ Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas of Sauber and Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin.

Hamilton set the Q2 pace in 1:33.136. After his dismal outing in Brazil where he finished 10th in the rain, this was evidence of a revitalised Hamilton ahead of a move to Ferrari next year.

Verstappen briefly went top with an edgy lap before Mercedes responded with Russell taking control as both he and Hamilton delivered improved laps, Russell clocking 1:32.881.

At this stage, Verstappen was showing enough pace to stay ahead of Norris before the Q2 segment ended with a yellow flag as Franco Colapinto hit the wall at the penultimate corner in his Williams, climbing out of the wreckage unhurt.

It was his second consecutive crash in qualifying and left the team with a big repair and rebuild job – the British team’s sixth in three Grands Prix.

The Argentine driver was already heading for a Q2 exit in 14th place along with RB’s Liam Lawson, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen of Haas and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

Hamilton topped Q2 to lead the way into the top ten shootout with a best lap in 1:32.567 ahead of Sainz and Russell.

The Q3 action resumed after a 25-minute delay for repairs, Verstappen leading the way followed by both McLarens before Russell clocked an early marker in 1:32.811 ahead of Sainz while Hamilton locked up and aborted his first lap.

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One Win In Nine Races, Max Verstappen And Red Bull Battling To Keep F1 2024 Championship Lead Heading Into Azerbaijan GP https://artifex.news/one-win-in-nine-races-max-verstappen-and-red-bull-battling-to-keep-f1-2024-championship-lead-heading-into-azerbaijan-gp-6546558/ Thu, 12 Sep 2024 05:23:59 +0000 https://artifex.news/one-win-in-nine-races-max-verstappen-and-red-bull-battling-to-keep-f1-2024-championship-lead-heading-into-azerbaijan-gp-6546558/ Read More “One Win In Nine Races, Max Verstappen And Red Bull Battling To Keep F1 2024 Championship Lead Heading Into Azerbaijan GP” »

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Max Verstappen will look for an improved personal and team performance this weekend when Red Bull seek to stop the rot and stay on top in the Formula One title race at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. After a run of six races without a win that has coincided with the revival of his rivals, the Dutchman arrives in Baku with a 62-point lead in the drivers’ championship ahead of Lando Norris. His team’s advantage ahead of McLaren has also been trimmed to only eight points.

Verstappen’s and Red Bull’s last victory, his 61st, came at the Spanish Grand Prix in June while team-mate Sergio Perez last won on the streets of Baku, claiming his sixth career triumph and second in Azerbaijan in last year’s race.

Red Bull’s supreme domination that has seen them leading the constructors’ championship for more than two years, since the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, will end if McLaren outscore them by nine points on Sunday.

In the aftermath of Aston Martin’s glossy unveiling of Red Bull’s star designer Adrian Newey as future managing technical partner on Tuesday, another defeat to knock them off the top could be seen as significant.

Both Verstappen and Mexican Perez have been busy working on finding solutions to their slump in form since Charles Leclerc claimed victory for Ferrari at Monza on September 1.

“Monza was a tough race for us and it is our priority to get our form back to where it needs to be,” said Verstappen.

“We always want to be more competitive and the team has been working hard on the issues we’ve had.”

“We’ve had a good period of reflection and work since the last race,” said Perez. “Both Max and I have been in the factory working to ensure we are finding a fix for the problems.

“To get back to where we should be on the grid, it will take a team effort and you can see that every day in Milton Keynes. This has pulled us all together.”

Perez leaning on Baku memories

Perez finished eighth at Monza, two places behind three-time world champion Verstappen, while both Ferraris, both McLarens and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton filled the top five.

After a season of much speculation about his future at Red Bull following a string of poor results, he welcomes the return to a venue he likes.

He is the only two-time winner in Baku and has scored more points there than any other driver.

“Personally, I love to race there,” he said. “Street circuits suit my style and Baku is a fun track.”

Ferrari will also be filled with hope in Baku after their success with an upgraded car at Monza where revisions to the floor and other areas proved successful.

But team chief Fred Vasseur stressed that the team will be focused on consistency and not checking the championship standings this weekend as they chase down Red Bull and McLaren.

“We have to focus on doing a good job every weekend and if something has to come to us, it will come. It’s no good to focus on the championship and be conservative… everything can change so much from one week to the next.”

With McLaren and Mercedes both claiming wins in recent races, a close scrap on the fast and challenging street track is in prospect, with Ferrari’s reserve driver Oliver Bearman replacing Kevin Magnussen alongside Nico Hulkenberg at Haas.

Dane Magnussen has been banned after accumulating 12 penalty points.

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Mercedes Announce 18-Year-Old Andrea Kimi Antonelli As Lewis Hamilton’s Successor From 2025 F1 Season https://artifex.news/mercedes-announce-18-year-old-andrea-kimi-antonelli-as-lewis-hamiltons-successor-from-2025-f1-season-6459150/ Sat, 31 Aug 2024 09:08:44 +0000 https://artifex.news/mercedes-announce-18-year-old-andrea-kimi-antonelli-as-lewis-hamiltons-successor-from-2025-f1-season-6459150/ Read More “Mercedes Announce 18-Year-Old Andrea Kimi Antonelli As Lewis Hamilton’s Successor From 2025 F1 Season” »

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli was a Mercedes junior driver.© X (Twitter)




Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli will step up to Formula One next season and replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, the team announced on Saturday. Antonelli, who turned 18 on August 25, will partner George Russell, another product of the team’s junior programme, after Hamilton moves to Ferrari after this year. “Our 2025 driver line-up combines experience, talent, youth and out-and-out raw speed. We are excited about what George and Kimi bring to the team both as individual drivers, but also as a partnership,” team chief Toto Wolff said in a statement.

Antonelli, who is from Bologna, has had a stellar youth career until a brief lull at the start of this season.

He won the 2022, Italian and German Formula 4 championships, the 2023 Middle East and European regional Formula championships.

This season, he skipped Formula 3 and went straight into the Formula 2 championship. After a slow start he scored his first victory in the sprint race at Silverstone at the beginning of July, before winning the main race in Budapest two weeks later.

He is seventh in the championship with four rounds to go.

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Belgian Grand Prix: George Russell Claims ‘Awesome’ One-Stop Win In Mercedes One-Two Triumph https://artifex.news/belgian-grand-prix-george-russell-claims-awesome-one-stop-win-in-mercedes-one-two-triumph-6209256/ Sun, 28 Jul 2024 15:57:38 +0000 https://artifex.news/belgian-grand-prix-george-russell-claims-awesome-one-stop-win-in-mercedes-one-two-triumph-6209256/ Read More “Belgian Grand Prix: George Russell Claims ‘Awesome’ One-Stop Win In Mercedes One-Two Triumph” »

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George Russell claimed a memorable if unexpected victory ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a thrilling finish to Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, having started sixth on the grid. The 26-year-old Briton came home 0.526 seconds ahead of the seven-time world champion, who controlled most of the race before being called in for a second stop, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finishing third, just 1.173 seconds adrift of Russell.  Russell drove the 44-laps race with only one pit stop which led to him going 34 laps on his second set of tyres, a strategic decision taken during the contest enabling him to take the lead and an unexpected third career victory.  “Amazing, amazing result,” shrieked Russell. 

“We definitely didn’t predict this in our strategy meeting this morning but the car was awesome. We changed a lot on Friday night and the tyres felt great.

“I kept saying ‘I think we can do the one-stop, I think we can do the one-stop’ and the strategy was a really great job. 

“Well done to Lewis as he really controlled that race and if circumstances were slightly different, I’m sure he would have got the victory.

“One-two for the team was awesome and what a way to go to the break.”

Russell’s win also brought Mercedes a third win in four races following a poor run of results in the last two years.

“We had such a disaster on Friday when the car was nowhere,” said Hamilton, who led for most of the race until Russell’s strategy undercut the field. 

“We made some changes and it was difficult to know in the wet yesterday, but the car was fantastic. Congratulations to George and the team.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who started on pole position, came home fourth ahead of three-time world champion and series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull, Lando Norris in the second McLaren and Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari. 

Sergio Perez, who started second, finished eighth in the second Red Bull ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon of Alpine. 

– Pit stop strategy –

After Saturday’s deluge, the race began in bright, warm and dry conditions. 

Leclerc enjoyed a smooth start from pole as Hamilton beat Perez to take second into La Source, where they battled wheel to wheel. 

Norris had a poor start and ran through a gravel trap, falling to seventh behind Russell and Sainz as the early order settled while Verstappen gained two places to rise to ninth, having started 11th due to a 10-place penalty for taking an additional new engine. 

Hamilton’s pace took him within reach of Leclerc on lap three when, using Drag Reduction System (DRS), he swept into the lead on the Kemmel Straight. 

He stayed there and by lap five led Leclerc by a second ahead of Perez, Piastri and Russell with Sainz sixth, the only top 10 driver on hard tyres, ahead of Norris and Verstappen. 

Russell and Verstappen came in after 10 laps, both switching from mediums to hards and re-joining in 13th and 14th respectively before Hamilton, Perez and Piastri pitted one lap later. 

Norris finally pitted on lap 16, rejoining eighth behind Verstappen with whom he battled until the end of the race.

With all of the other contenders pitting a second time, Russell became the fifth race leader and opted to stay out on the one-stop strategy. 

Hamilton closed but instead of waving his teammate through Russell was give the all-clear to race him, a potentially dangerous strategy from Mercedes as a flying Piastri quickly closed on them. 

With five laps to go, Hamilton was two seconds behind Russell and Piastri 5.4 adrift, the top three setting up a grandstand finish that saw Piastri close up to within two seconds while the Mercedes men tussled to the flag.    

“I thought I could catch them but clean air made such a big difference today,” said Piastri. 

Verstappen still leads the championship race with 275 points, 78 clear of Norris. Red Bull top the constructors’ championship 42 points ahead of McLaren.

Formula One now heads into a summer break with the next race in Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25.

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Feature: The Storyline Behind Lewis Hamilton’s Romantic British Grand Prix Win https://artifex.news/feature-the-storyline-behind-lewis-hamiltons-romantic-british-grand-prix-win-6061086/ Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:24:26 +0000 https://artifex.news/feature-the-storyline-behind-lewis-hamiltons-romantic-british-grand-prix-win-6061086/ Read More “Feature: The Storyline Behind Lewis Hamilton’s Romantic British Grand Prix Win” »

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945 days. 56 Grand Prix races. For a man who had won in every season of Formula 1 till then to have to wait for so long for another win seems beyond belief. But Sir Lewis Hamilton – the most successful driver in the history of his sport – had to wait that long. Through spells of agony, self-doubt and crushed glimmers of hope. But when it came, it came in the best way possible. Lewis Hamilton claimed his 104th F1 win at his home British Grand Prix on Sunday.

The win was, by all means, a fairytale. On a track no one drives quite like he does. In front of a colosseum of fans adorned in his masks and race number ’44’. He had won in Silverstone a record eight times before – including perhaps one of Formula 1’s greatest-ever drives in 2008 – but his ninth win, in 2024, is perhaps the most special.

“I can’t stop crying,” said Hamilton in the post-race interview. “Since 2021, every day getting up, trying to fight, to train, to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can,” Hamilton tried to reason.

He didn’t need to. After having a championship taken away from him in heartbreaking circumstances at the end of 2021, Hamilton never got a chance to fight back as Mercedes fell down the pecking order.

Too many times, he had had his ability questioned. Sunday allowed Lewis Hamilton to release years of pent-up emotion: from needing a result for the effort he put, to being able to prove, to himself, that he has still got it. Oh boy, has he still got it.

On Sunday, Hamilton rode the ebbs and flows better than anyone else. He overtook teammate and pole-sitter George Russell on track. He then closed the gap to Lando Norris in a faster McLaren through a tricky spell of rain. Blitzed his outlap to overtake Norris after the final pitstops. And when Norris faded, Hamilton stayed strong, taking care of his soft tyres till the end to hold off a fast-charging Max Verstappen.

It wasn’t a win through luck, or in the fastest car; accusations that’ve unfairly been thrown Hamilton’s way in the past. Instead, it was a display of sheer genius. Hamilton was the best driver on Sunday. Period.

Hamilton himself admitted that he rarely cries. But as he teared up inside his car and then went on to have a long embrace with his father, it brought back memories of Turkey 2020.

Turkey 2020 was the race when Hamilton equalled the record for the most championships in Formula 1 history. The fact that this win caused Hamilton to react in a similar manner to that record-breaking race tells you everything about the magnitude, and what it meant to him.

To top it all off, the win came in Silverstone, his home race. The circuit where a part of the track is named after him. It’s the place where the crowd roars loudest for Formula 1’s most popular driver. As an emotional Hamilton jumped over the barriers and waved the Union Jack high, it was hard to not let a tear escape.

“To make him win again, at the British Grand Prix, in his last race for Mercedes here, it’s almost like a little fairytale. You couldn’t have scripted it better,” quipped Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff at the end of the race.

Despite turning 40 next year, Hamilton may still have many more romantic chapters to write as he prepares to don the Ferrari red next season. But he’ll have to do quite something to beat Sunday’s storyline.

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Analysis: How George Russell Beat Lando Norris And Max Verstappen To British Grand Prix Pole Position https://artifex.news/analysis-how-george-russell-beat-lando-norris-and-max-verstappen-to-british-grand-prix-pole-position-6048862/ Sat, 06 Jul 2024 15:47:19 +0000 https://artifex.news/analysis-how-george-russell-beat-lando-norris-and-max-verstappen-to-british-grand-prix-pole-position-6048862/ Read More “Analysis: How George Russell Beat Lando Norris And Max Verstappen To British Grand Prix Pole Position” »

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George Russell is the form man in Formula 1 at the moment, as he grabbed a second pole position in four races to head an all-British top 3 in the British Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Russell finished 0.171s ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P2. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted in third, despite being the favourite going into qualifying. His teammate Oscar Piastri qualified P5. It was a disappointing day for Max Verstappen by his standards, as he qualified only fourth. But how did Mercedes come out on top?

Wet weather the secret to Mercedes success

Not for the first time in 2024, the Mercedes came alive in cooler conditions. Much like the Canadian GP when Russell grabbed pole, a wet-to-dry qualifying session suited the Mercedes car during qualifying, making them the team to beat on the soft tyre runs.

Championship leader Max Verstappen went off into the gravel in Q1, and a possible loss of downforce from that incident meant that the Dutchman was never really in contention for pole.

With rain on the cards on Sunday, George Russell will be eyeing up a second successive win, after his Austrian GP success last weekend.

Watch out for Hamilton, Norris

Lewis Hamilton is an eight-time winner at Silverstone, and no driver drives the circuit quite like the seven-time world champion. Starting on the front row, Hamilton, for once in 2024, will not have to rue a poor qualifying result.

Lando Norris in the McLaren is likely to also take the fight to the two Silver Arrows. In recent weekends, the McLaren has been the fastest car on raceday.

Day to forget for Ferrari

Ferrari have abruptly fallen behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, proved by the fact that Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas outqualified Carlos Sainz. The day was even worse for Charles Leclerc, who failed to make it to Q3.

Lance Stroll (P8) also outqualified Fernando Alonso (P10) in the Aston Martin team.

Earlier in the day, Sergio Perez beached it in the gravel in Q1, meaning it was yet another Q1 elimination for the Mexican.

British GP Qualifying Top 10: 1. George Russell, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris, 4. Max Verstappen, 5. Oscar Piastri, 6. Nico Hulkenberg, 7. Carlos Sainz, 8. Lance Stroll, 9. Alex Albon, 10. Fernando Alonso.

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George Russell Gifted Austrian Grand Prix Win After Max Verstappen In Late Collision https://artifex.news/george-russell-gifted-austrian-grand-prix-win-after-max-verstappen-in-late-collision-6004869/ Sun, 30 Jun 2024 17:05:19 +0000 https://artifex.news/george-russell-gifted-austrian-grand-prix-win-after-max-verstappen-in-late-collision-6004869/ Read More “George Russell Gifted Austrian Grand Prix Win After Max Verstappen In Late Collision” »

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George Russell claimed a dramatic victory for Mercedes on Sunday after a sensational late collision between series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull and his nearest rival Lando Norris of McLaren in the closing laps of an action-packed Austrian Grand Prix. It was the British driver’s second career victory, endorsing the improved form of the Mercedes team in recent races, as he made the most of Verstappen’s impulsive and aggressive move against Norris, to finish 1.9 seconds clear of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.  “Incredible!” said Russell, who had registered Mercedes’ last win in Brazil in 2022. “I think it was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold on to that third place and I saw on the TV that Max and Lando were getting pretty close — and I knew Lando would want to try to get that race win. 

“The team has done an amazing job to put us in this fight and you’ve got to be there in the end to pick up the pieces.”

Carlos Sainz finished third for Ferrari ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes and Verstappen, who was fifth, despite collecting a 10-second penalty for causing the crash with Norris, who was forced to retire his damaged car. 

On a hot day in the Styrian Alps, with air temperatures touching 29 degrees and the track at 49, Verstappen made his now customary flawless start from pole. 

Russell also made a good start from third and fought Norris for second on the opening lap.

Verstappen pitted on lap 23, followed by Norris and the rest, passing the race lead to Piastri until he pitted on lap 25. Piastri rejoined sixth and order was restored with everyone on hards, except Russell who took a second set of mediums.

“He launched straight into me – I couldn’t turn right into the box,” said Norris, complaining about Verstappen’s alleged unsafe release by Red Bull.

“Yeah, we’re on it,” came the reply. 

By lap 41 Verstappen was grumbling about his tyres.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” said the champion who had only a fresh set of hards or used mediums left to run.

– 10 second penalty –

By lap 44, Verstappen’s lead was down to 6.4 seconds before Russell, also struggling, pitted for fresh hards, re-joining sixth. He swiftly set a fastest lap and passed Sainz for fifth behind Hamilton, who was behind the two McLarens. 

With the leaders extending their stints to make a two-stop strategy work, back-markers like Leclerc in 12th on three stops were faster on track, but stuck behind Verstappen until he pitted again with Norris on lap 51. 

The Dutchman suffered a slow stop due to a ‘sticky’ left rear and Norris on fresh mediums was only 2.2 behind as they rejoined in P1 and P2. Verstappen was on used mediums, delivering the prospect of a thrilling duel to the flag. 

Norris was three-tenths adrift before passing him on lap 59, but ran wide and off-track. He gave the position back and received a warning for exceeding track limits before attacking again only for Verstappen to run wide and rejoin.

The battling pair eventually collided on lap 63 at Turn Three where Verstappen moved across to hit Norris’s car and both suffered punctures, gifting the lead to Russell as they limped back to the pits.

Verstappen’s front left was damaged and Norris’s right rear, with sufficient damage for the McLaren to retire as Verstappen rejoined in fifth, only to receive a 10-second penalty for causing the crash which led to a brief Virtual Safety Car.

Nico Hulkenberg came home sixth for Haas ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, Daniel Ricciardo of RB and Pierre Gasly of Alpine. 

Leclerc finished 11th in the second Ferrari after a race of four pit-stops following a first lap incident. 

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Max Verstappen Fights Off Valiant Lando Norris For Spanish Grand Prix Win, Lewis Hamilton Gets Podium https://artifex.news/max-verstappen-fights-off-valiant-lando-norris-for-spanish-grand-prix-win-lewis-hamilton-gets-podium-5953294/ Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:46:37 +0000 https://artifex.news/max-verstappen-fights-off-valiant-lando-norris-for-spanish-grand-prix-win-lewis-hamilton-gets-podium-5953294/ Read More “Max Verstappen Fights Off Valiant Lando Norris For Spanish Grand Prix Win, Lewis Hamilton Gets Podium” »

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McLaren driver Lando Norris fought right to the end, but it was Max Verstappen who won his seventh race of the season at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix. The gap between the two drivers were separated by only 2.2 seconds at the chequered flag, after a valiant push from the British driver, to close the gap from more than eight seconds at one point. Mercedes finished third and fourth for the second consecutive race, but this time, Lewis Hamilton grabbed his first Grand Prix podium of 2024.

At the start of the race, George Russell went from fourth to first in the first turn, with an audacious move. Crucially, Verstappen also pipped pole-sitter Norris at the start. The Dutchman would soon overtake Russell on Lap 3, a move that would allow him to manage his pace and tyres at the front.

Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished where they started, coming home in fifth and sixth. Leclerc was less than a second behind Russell at the end.

Home hero Fernando Alonso endured a race to forget, finishing pointless at a disappointing 12th place. 

Russell was ahead of Norris and Hamilton for most of the race. However, Mercedes’ decision to put hard tyres on his final stint proved to be the wrong choice, as he slipped down the podium places.

Sainz also spent most of the race ahead of Leclerc, having overtaken him in Lap 2. However, he also fell victim to the hard tyres.

Oscar Piastri recovered from his worst qualifying of 2024 to finish seventh, while Sergio Perez got eighth. 

And it was a bright day for French constructors Alpine, as both Pierre Gasly (P9) and Esteban Ocon (P10) finished in the points. 

Verstappen continues to lead the championship standings, now going 70 points in front of everyone. Norris, however, has leapfrogged Leclerc to second.

The F1 circus next heads to Austria, for the Austrian GP, on June 30.

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