George Russell was surprised by Mercedes’ pace in Vegas but hailed it a ‘dominant’ weekend for the team.
From the first practice session in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Mercedes showed tremendous pace under the lights of the Vegas Strip. The colder temperatures and dusty track favoured the W15, and Russell took pole position in qualifying. Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes started the race in tenth but both drivers were confident in their race pace.
George Russell had a strong start as the lights went out. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari jumped from fourth to second and was closing on the Mercedes driver, but Russell fended off Leclerc and started building a gap. From that moment George Russell was barely seen out ahead.
Hamilton, who had started tenth, climbed through the field to find himself behind Russell. In the final ten laps, he began to close the gap but Russell’s lead was too strong and he crossed the line with 7.3 seconds to spare.
Russell’s bad luck
Vegas was the first win for Mercedes since Belgium, where Russell’s disqualification led to Hamilton inheriting the win. It was the Brit’s first pole since Silverstone, where a mechanical fault ended his chances at a home win.
Russell noted these unfortunate few results and admitted he was relieved over the lack of drama up and down the grid. He said in his post-race interview:
“I was just waiting for something to happen. The two races I’ve been on pole before, there’s always been chaos, rain, drying, always something happening.
He continued to say, “I was like, ‘I feel confident here, I’ve got a good gap’, but I was just waiting for something to happen and it didn’t. I guess our luck has turned and I’m just so, so happy right now.”
With four months since the last Mercedes win, the Silver Arrows had struggled to match the pace of Ferrari and McLaren. Though they have had a strong pace on Friday, by the race they have found themselves consistently behind the frontrunners.
However, that wasn’t the case in Las Vegas and though he confessed he didn’t know where the pace had come from, the Brit praised the ‘dominant weekend’ for the silver arrows.
He admitted, “It’s been a dream of a weekend. I don’t know how we’ve been so quick but I’m just riding this wave right now. To get the victory here, pole position, a dominant weekend, one-two with Lewis as well… We couldn’t have chosen a better place to make this happen.”
"VEGAS BABBBY!"
George Russell wins the jackpot with a stellar drive ?#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/kiyIchWsCy
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 24, 2024
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