George Russell is on guard for ‘Team Verstappen’ in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Although McLaren is almost certain to win the Constructors’ Championship, the fight for second place is far from over. The battle was primarily between Mercedes and Ferrari, but according to George Russell, another team has entered the fray after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: ‘Team Verstappen’.
Max Verstappen consecutively won the Grand Prix in Italy and Azerbaijan, providing a significant boost for his team, Red Bull, in the Constructors’ Championship. Although the gap with leader McLaren is still large – the British team is 351 World Championship points ahead – the Austrians are slowly catching up to Mercedes and Ferrari. Driver George Russell is even warning of ‘Team Verstappen’ after the Dutchman’s dominant victory in Baku.
Team Verstappen
“Given the current form of the teams, the chance of Max finishing ahead of us (in the constructors’ championship) is just as likely as Ferrari doing so,” Russell said in the post-race press conference. Race winner Verstappen was sitting next to the Brit when he made his statement, and looked at him questioningly. “You mean Red Bull, right?” the world champion then asked. “Yes, Team Verstappen indeed,” Russell replied jokingly. The Mercedes driver was referring to the fact that Verstappen has accounted for most of Red Bull’s World Championship points this year. Of Red Bull’s total of 272 points, the team owes 255 to Verstappen.
Russell continued his analysis of the three contenders for second place in the constructors’ championship on a more serious note. “Things are moving so fast. Ferrari looked incredibly strong on Friday in Baku, and they’ve always been great here. Charles Leclerc has been on pole position here four times and they could have easily had a one-two on the grid,” the Brit added. “But of course they had a bad qualifying and walked away with less than ten points, while we took thirty. No one knows yet how the battle will end.”
