Russell taking ‘very small positives’ from F1 Hungarian GP

After a damage limitation run to eighth in Sunday’s Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, necessitated by a disastrous qualifying, Mercedes’ Geroge Russell was able to take “very small positives” from his race.

Russell dropped out of qualifying at the first opportunity on Saturday with his Mercedes team incorrectly gambling on a rain shower that never came to prevent rivals from improving in the latter stages of Q1.

Starting from 17th, Russell was able to pip fellow Q1 dropout Sergio Perez at the start of Sunday’s GP, but eventually lost out to the Mexican’s undercutting strategy in the final stint of the race.

The Red Bull/Mercedes charge through the field saw Perez and Russell finish seventh and eighth respectively with the Austrian GP winner searching for crumbs of positivity post-race.

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“Well, we were hoping for P7, to be honest,” Russell said. 

“[Perez] had a really great race. We were a bit surprised by his pace and we knew we were going to be, on paper we thought we’d be about 50 to 60 seconds behind the leader.

“We ended up 40 seconds behind the leader, so we’ll take the very small positives.”

As Russell languished 40 seconds behind the leader, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton successfully fended off both Ferrari’s and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to complete the podium.

The Silver Arrows’ pace has improved dramatically in recent weeks and Hamilton’s result seals a run of five podiums in as many races for the Brackley-based Formula 1 outfit.

That run includes back-to-back victories for Russell and Hamilton at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone respectively, but both Mercedes drivers learnt early on that form couldn’t be replicated amid the hot temperatures of the Hungaroring.

Still, Hamilton’s ability to carve a podium again gave Russell reason to be cheerful and he reasoned that were it not for his qualifying struggles, two Mercedes cars would’ve been in the fight for the podium.

“I mean, we can argue that from these five weekends, [Hungary] has probably been our least competitive,” Russell said. 

“And obviously Lewis on the podium today, which is a great result for the team. 

“Clearly, in the normal circumstance of qualifying, we would have been up there fighting for, you know, that P3 to P5 mix.

“So, yeah, still disappointed after yesterday, but that’s the sport. You make mistakes, you get punished.”

An extra point for the fastest lap ensured Russell added five points to his championship tally in 2024 and the one of seven Grand Prix winners so far this term sits eighth in the Drivers’ standings on 116 points.

Meanwhile, Mercedes is fourth in the Constructors’ standings with a tally of 241 points, 81 points behind third-placed Ferrari.