George Russell finished third in the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. Only the two McLaren drivers managed to stay ahead of him; he managed to overtake pole-sitter Charles Leclerc in the final stages of the race. With this, the Brit not only secures a podium finish but also gains ground in the world championship. Heading into the summer break, he is only 15 championship points behind reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
“I’m very pleased with this race,” Russell responded afterwards. “The qualification was already a surprise – in fact, the whole weekend could be called surprising. And of course, I’m very happy to be back on the podium.” The Mercedes driver secured his third place in the final stages, when he managed to overtake a struggling Charles Leclerc. This was not without a fight; Leclerc defended fiercely and would later receive a time penalty for moving in the braking zone.
“The battle with Leclerc was very exciting,” Russell admitted. “I opted for a divebomb, where you really push the limit of grip. If a driver then starts to move during braking, it becomes dangerous. I think we touched each other on the second attempt.” Despite the incident, Russell looks back on one of his strongest weekends so far: “We can definitely be satisfied with this,” he emphasized once again.
