George Russell notched his third Formula 1 win at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last weekend. It was an imperious performance from the British driver on a weekend where Mercedes surprisingly led the way.
Ahead of the race in Nevada, Russell had only scored three podiums in 2024. He’s consistently extracted the maximum from his Mercedes car, but often that meant P5 or P6.
Here, though, the Mercedes thrived in the extremely cold temperatures. When his teammate Lewis Hamilton faltered and had to settle for 10th, Russell took an assured pole position, a tenth ahead of Carlos Sainz.
He saw off the threats behind into turn one, and while he briefly had to defend from a charging Charles Leclerc, he was largely untroubled. Leclerc used up much of his tyre life attacking the Silver Arrow and his pace sharply dropped off.
Russell progressively built up a commanding advantage ahead of the final stint. Hamilton, who had progressed to second, set relentless fastest laps but remained 7.3 seconds behind at the chequered flag.
It was the first time Russell had set the pace in qualifying and gone on to win the race. He took victory in Austria in June but only after the late collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
David Coulthard tells George Russell he should have been more arrogant after Las Vegas Grand Prix win
After the race, Russell spoke to Channel 4 and issued a reserved verdict on his performance. He was wary of staying humble, perhaps because there’s so much more he wants to achieve.
“I don’t want to come across as cocky or arrogant,” he said. “But it was for sure the most
dominant win of my career.”
Pundit David Coulthard urged him to not shy away from self-aggrandisement. He’s frustrated that the British drivers don’t ‘own’ their ‘amazing’ feats.
“You say you don’t want to come across as cocky,” Coulthard said. “This is what we get wrong in Britain. We don’t own it when we do something amazing. We’re in America!”
Russell has quietly been one of the strongest drivers on the grid in 2024. With two races to go, he’s nine points ahead of Hamilton in the standings despite losing a Belgian GP win to a disqualification.
George Russell earns sympathy from Martin Brundle despite Vegas triumph
It’s received little attention – perhaps because his teammate is about to join Ferrari – but Russell will soon enter the final year of his Mercedes contract. And his future is far from certain.
Toto Wolff is interested in Max Verstappen and has tied Hamilton’s replacement Kimi Antonelli down to a multi-year contract. If Verstappen makes himself available for 2026, Wolff could make one of the most brutal driver calls in F1’s recent history.
Letting Russell go would be equivalent to Ferrari dropping Carlos Sainz. But unlike the Williams-bound Sainz, the Briton could find his way to another top seat – Red Bull are interested in Russell.
His finest win to date coincided with Verstappen sealing his fourth title. That’s why Martin Brundle feels sorry for Russell, whose display was naturally overshadowed.
