King's Lynn driver George Russell moves up to second Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship
Lynn-born George Russell moved up to second in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship after finishing the Australian Grand Prix in third place for Mercedes on Sunday.
The impressive result came at the same Melbourne circuit at which Russell made his Formula One debut 63 races ago.
His third-place finish also handed him the highest points score from a single race in his entire Formula One career.
However, it was not his first podium as he took second in last year’s Belgian Grand Prix – but that race was shortened and only half points were awarded.
Sunday’s result came after a disappointing start to the race weekend as in practice Russell failed to set a time that put him in the top ten, admitting that he was ‘a long way off the pace’ at that stage.
His situation improved somewhat in qualifying as he managed to pull off a lap good enough for sixth position, merely a tenth behind his seven-time World Drivers’ Championship winning team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
From the race start, Russell made up a place before the first corner on McLaren driver Lando Norris, moving him into fifth position.
The safety car was deployed on lap 23 after Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel crashed into the barriers at turn four.
This provided Russell with the opportunity to take advantage in the pits, and he did so by changing his worn medium tyres for the hard compound - which would last until the end of the race.
When he was released from the pits, he emerged onto the track in third position - but soon came under threat from Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez. To preserve his tyres, Russell reluctantly abandoned the fight with Perez and gave up third spot after advice from his team bosses.
Fortunately, reigning world champion Max Verstappen – who was running in second – suffered a mechanical failure which led to him withdrawing from the race, promoting Russell back up to third.
In the closing stages of the Grand Prix, the gap between Russell and team-mate Hamilton was closing but overheating issues for the former world champion ensured that an overtake never materialised and Russell kept his podium spot.
The 15 points Russell gained from his third place finish catapulted him up to second in the Drivers’ Championship - the highest he has ever been in his Formula One career.
Speaking after the race, Russell said: “We’ve got to be in it to win it and capitalise from others’ misfortune. Obviously we got a little bit lucky today, probably twice, but we’ll take it.
“There’s so much hard work going on back at base, Brackley and Brixworth, to try and get us back to the front, so to be standing on the podium is special.
“We’re never going to give up, we’ve got to keep on fighting and this weekend we were a long way behind our rivals but here we are standing on the podium.”
The 24-year-old believes there is still a long way to go before Mercedes can challenge Ferrari and Red Bull for race wins again.
He added: “We’ve got to keep this up while we are on the back foot and I’m sure we will get there after a few more races.
“I think it will take some time until we can fight these boys in red and blue, they look pretty exceptional at the moment. But if anyone can, Mercedes can, so let’s go for it.”
The last time West Norfolk GP fans had “their” driver on the podium of a Formula One race was back in August 1995, when Martin Brundle finished third in the Belgian Grand Prix held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa.
Driving for the Ligier team, Brundle was pipped by race winner Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Renault) and second- placed Damon Hill (Williams-Renault).
It was only on the last lap that Hill, on fresh tyres, found a way past Brundle.
In the Martin Brundle Scrapbook, the Gayton-based racer writes: “That was a hard-earned trophy in the rain at Spa – my final podium in Formula 1.”
