George Russell Could Have Challenged Verstappen in Baku, Says Wolff
Mercedes believes they had the speed to fight for victory in Azerbaijan despite finishing second, with team boss Toto Wolff suggesting George Russell could have battled Max Verstappen at the front.
“Our first analysis showed that we were within a tenth of Max in pure performance,” Wolff revealed after Sunday’s race.
Russell delivered an impressive drive to claim second place after starting fifth on the grid. The British driver finished around 14.5 seconds behind the four-time world champion.
“It’s always a bit optimistic to say that he could have given Max a hard time,” Wolff admitted. “But I think, yes, it would have been a race at the front, at least.”
The Mercedes boss was particularly impressed with Russell’s consistency throughout the race.
“Whether it would have been enough for a win, I don’t know, but the car was good on both tyres and his pace was impressive,” he explained.
What makes Russell’s performance even more remarkable is that he was battling illness all weekend.
The 26-year-old even skipped Thursday’s media day due to feeling unwell before returning to the cockpit on Friday.
“I am really happy to be back on the podium. It’s been a tough run of races recently, and I also have not felt well this weekend,” Russell said after the race.
“That made today even more challenging than it could have been, so I’m very pleased to finish second.”
Russell seemed relieved when the checkered flag finally appeared.
“I was pretty glad when I saw the chequered flag!”
His race execution was particularly strong, passing rookie teammates Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson before executing a perfect overcut strategy against Carlos Sainz.
Despite the strong result, Russell remains fourth in the drivers’ standings, 33 points behind the defending world champion.
This performance suggests Mercedes may finally have found the pace to consistently challenge at the front as the season enters its final stretch.
