George Russell was left surprised after his podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, but tempered Mercedes' expectations for the rest of the season.
Russell, who started fifth on the grid in Baku, inherited third place on the penultimate lap of proceedings after Sergio Perez's collision with Carlos Sainz.
The Briton claimed his third podium for Mercedes this season, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton made it double points for the Silver Arrows after finishing ninth.
Russell moved level with Red Bull's Perez in the drivers' championship and is now 23 points behind Hamilton ahead of the final seven races.
However, Russell acknowledged where Mercedes ranked in the pecking order at the end of a tricky weekend that saw the team complete two power unit changes.
“Definitely surprised,” Russell said about his podium finish. “I think there was so much hard work this weekend for everybody in the team.
"There were engine changes on my side, engine changes for Lewis, so much going on, everybody was working so hard.
“We had a really bad start to the race. I was dropping off a lot, but on the hard tyre I think we were one of the quickest out there and that was great.
"Got past Max, so an added bonus to stand on the podium.
“I mean we’ve got to be realistic still. We should’ve finished fifth today. That was the true result.
"Obviously, with Lando [Norris’] qualifying yesterday, he probably would’ve been up there as well, so I don’t want to get carried away with ourselves with this podium today.
"We’ve got a lot of work to do. Hopefully, Singapore’s a slightly better weekend.”
As for Hamilton, having taken on a raft of new power unit components after qualifying, he was resigned to a long afternoon after his pit lane start.
He made up plenty of ground early on, and again after his pit stop, but spent much of the latter part of the race battling Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman.
Colapinto impressed in just his second race for Williams, scoring four points after finishing in eighth, while team-mate Alex Albon finished one place in front.
And Bearman, who replaced the suspended Kevin Magnussen for Haas, completed the top 10, which came with a record-breaking achievement.
The 19-year-old became the first driver to score points for two different teams in his first two Formula One races, having made his debut in March for Ferrari as a last-minute replacement for Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing in seventh.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton showered praise on the two rookies after the race, with the Briton, who will be replaced by youngster Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes next season, insisting the future is bright for the sport.
“Today was a difficult race,” Hamilton said.
"“We had a good day on Friday, but the rest of the weekend was tough. We made some changes heading into Saturday that didn’t work out, but we had to live with them.
“We also knew it would be challenging to overtake today. Despite the long straight, it is hard to follow through the second sector.
"Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, who I was racing for a lot of the afternoon, did such a great job.
"It is great to see the youngsters like them coming through and doing so well. For their first and second races, it was very impressive.”
Leclerc excited by 'motivation' Hamilton's arrival will bring to Ferrari
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc thinks that the arrival of Lewis Hamilton can help take both the team and himself to another level.
At the start of the 2024 season, Ferrari shocked Formula One by announcing that Hamilton would replace Carlos Sainz and be joining for the following campaign.
His impending arrival is something that Leclerc is clearly excited about, as he explained in an appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
“When a champion like Lewis gets to any team, it brings a lot of motivation out of every single person,” Leclerc said.
“He will come along with all the experience that he's had over the years with Mercedes – a different way of working, a different vision – and this is always benefitting a team.”
Hamilton is a seven-time Drivers’ Championship winner with his last title coming in 2020, meaning he is level in the all-time standings with Michael Schumacher, while he also holds the F1 record for the most race wins ever (105).
Understandably, Leclerc is looking forward to being able to measure his own performance against a strong yardstick.
“Obviously for me it's going to be amazing because I’ll have, in the same car as me, the most successful driver in F1 history,” he said.
“That will be both extremely interesting for me to learn from one of the best ever, as well as a really big challenge and motivation to beat Lewis and to show what I'm capable of.
“With Lewis joining the team, he will definitely be a benchmark so it will be very important for me to be on my top level.”
On a personal level, Hamilton’s arrival will spell an end to the four-year period that Leclerc and Sainz have been together at Ferrari.
Leclerc was reflective about the relationship the pair have had while racing together, with Sainz set to join Williams in 2025.
While they have a good personal relationship, Leclerc said that it has not always gone smoothly.
“I think we get on very, very well,” he said.
“Yes, there have been many moments where, inside the helmet, I hated him and he hated me, because we didn't view the situation in the same way.
“But everything was fixed after a discussion between us two. We share many interests and we’ve had a lot of memorable moments that I will remember forever.”
Jamaican sensation Alex Powell claims first F4 win in Italy
Jamaican Alex Powell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior, claimed his first European F4 victory in one of the most exciting races of the year at the famed ‘Temple of Speed’, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy, on Sunday.
Ninth on the grid for the first race of the weekend, Powell had a blistering start, which saw him move up four positions on lap one, before the first of several Safety Car appearances paused racing. It was a race with multiple incidents and re-starts, but Powell remained focused and was consistently sharp for every start.
After a three-way battle, the Jamaican sensation executed a breathtaking pass for the race lead, before a final incident brought out the Safety Car again, with Powell crossing the line first as the race finished.
In addition to the outright race win, Powell also secured first among rookie drivers, claiming the two top trophies in the race. His performance also assisted Prema Racing to secure the team title for the 2024 Euro 4 Championship.
McConnell confident heading into rounds three and four of Nitrocross Championship in Utah
Jamaican racing sensation Fraser McConnell is gearing up for an intense weekend of action as he heads into Rounds three and four of the Nitrocross championship on October 5 & 6 in Utah.
Following a stellar performance at the season’s opening rounds in Richmond, Virginia, McConnell holds second place in the overall standings, just 11 points behind leader Kevin Eriksson.
McConnell’s dominant showing at Richmond Raceway on September 7 & 8 saw him secure a third-place finish in Round 1, followed by a thrilling battle for first in Round 2.
After clinching the top qualifier spot and winning his semi-final, McConnell started the Round 2 final in pole position. Despite taking an early lead, a dramatic half-spin pushed him off his racing line, allowing Eriksson to take the win. McConnell finished second ahead of Viktor Vranckx.
Looking ahead to the Utah rounds, McConnell remains optimistic about his chances.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend, going back to Utah, the birthplace of Nitrocross,” he shared.
“It all started there with the Nitro World Games in 2018 and 2019, so it's a very special place for everyone involved.”
McConnell also highlighted the challenge of the upcoming track. “Salt Lake is one of the craziest tracks on the calendar, with the biggest gap jump and a lot of demanding corners. It requires high speed from us drivers. I'll just go out there and hit my marks as usual, trying to extract as much as I can from the car while proudly repping Jamaica.”
With back-to-back podium finishes in Rounds 1 and 2, McConnell is confident about continuing his strong run.
“We’re second in the championship with 107 points, and I’m looking forward to continuing that streak this weekend,” he said.
McConnell currently leads defending champion Robin Larsson by four points and is poised to close the gap further in his pursuit of overtaking Eriksson.
McConnell's season is sponsored by JustBet, Proven, Tru Shake, Rainforest, and the Jamaica Tourist Board.
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