Russell, unexpected podium in the Netherlands
Given how he was performing before the summer break, maintaining the gap from Kimi Antonelli after Zandvoort was a win for George Russell. The Brit, after taking pole position in the Sprint and winning it, suffered a lackluster race pace in the Dutch GP. A pace significantly lower not only than that of Norris and Antonelli, but also than that of the Ferraris.
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For Russell, catching Norris and Antonelli during the race was pure utopia, and it was clear from the start that he could at best aim for third place. He defended it, also thanks to some too many mistakes at Ferrari and a saving Virtual Safety Car in the final laps. A few minutes earlier, Russell had to give up the position to Antonelli, overtaken on track only because the Bolognese took advantage of the first VSC for a free pit stop. A team order that the Englishman himself tried to refuse, only to obey the pit wall later.
Russell’s words
“Yes, we had different strategies. Ferrari was coming strong and clearly I wanted to fight at that moment. But Kimi was ahead before the VSC, so he deserved to finish second. P3 was the right result for me“, these are Russell’s words about Antonelli’s overtake. “It was clear that we couldn’t afford to waste time fighting, since we also had to defend ourselves from the Ferraris behind us. If we had done that, we probably would have lost a lot of time and I would have lost the podium. In the end, we managed to maximize the result for the team, and that is positive“.
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“We gave our best, it was clear that we would have a hard time defending ourselves from Lando and the Ferraris, who were incredibly fast. The competition is stronger than ever and it surprised us. Winning a Sprint and a third place is therefore a solid result, considering it was a challenging weekend in terms of pace“.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Russell has caught Hamilton in second place in the standings. Both are 59 points behind Antonelli, although formally the Mercedes driver is ahead for having won more races.
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