George Russell outlined his Formula 2 title credentials in the wake of his Sprint Race win in Azerbaijan, believing he has been the fastest driver in three of the four races held so far.
Four different drivers have climbed atop the podium this year, with Lando Norris and Artem Markelov victorious in Bahrain, before Alexander Albon and Russell triumphed in Azerbaijan.
Russell controlled Azerbaijan’s Feature Race but was taken out of contention when forced off by Nyck de Vries – and made amends in the Sprint Race by rising from 12th to win.
The Mercedes-backed reigning GP3 champion holds only sixth in the standings, 28 points behind McLaren junior Norris, but expressed confidence over his chances, pointing to his pace across both opening rounds.
“I think in this championship anything can happen and there’s been a huge amount of potential,” said Russell.
“It’s a hugely competitive championship; we’ve been really quick [in Azerbaijan] and we were last time in Bahrain, but we could turn up in Barcelona and be nowhere.
“I think we’ve seen across the board in qualifying, we’ve had three different teams in the top three each time, all the drivers are really competitive and all the teams are really competitive.
“So you’ve got to bring your A-game to every single race. I’m feeling really good, we’ve been comfortably the fastest in three out of the four races this season so we’ve got to capitalise on that.”
Russell emphasised that his Feature Race pace gave him the confidence that he could win the Sprint Race, irrespective of his lowly grid position.
“I was extremely gutted to lose out on the win,” Russell said, reflecting on the main race.
“I had the worst night’s sleep of the year just thinking about what happened, and if there was anything I could have done differently.
“I was really disappointed that we threw away a win, and after Bahrain when we stalled on the grid and had nothing to show for it.
“I knew that– even starting from P12 – we could win the race and that’s exactly what we did. I’m incredibly happy, delighted to get that win and have something to show for it rather than ifs and buts.”
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