George Russell reckons his misplaced 2024 Formulation 1 Belgian Grand Prix victory was a greater drive than his Las Vegas domination due to how within the former he held off Lewis Hamilton’s cost.
Russell’s mid-race swap to a one-stop technique meant he cycled to the lead at Spa when his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton had led convincingly on the standard two-stopper.
The youthful Briton then held on by means of the tense finale because the seven-time world champion and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri arrived at his rear finish for the closing laps.
Watch: Rating Autosport’s Prime 50 Drivers of 2024 – 40 to 31
Then, with the Mercedes W15 performing nicely towards the 12 months’s greatest vehicles in what was one other weekend of cool temperatures in Vegas, Russell received commandingly from pole.
However, when Autosport requested him which efficiency he was most pleased with on the 2024 Abu Dhabi season finale, Russell picked Spa.
This was despite the fact that he misplaced that outcome for his automobile/driver post-race weight complete coming in 1.5kg beneath the minimal allowed in F1’s guidelines – a state of affairs to which Russell held some blame as he had known his weight was down on what it should have been when he climbed aboard his W15.
“Spa was undoubtedly the very best drive doubtless,” Russell defined.
“As a result of Vegas – in all probability these first 12 laps have been in all probability the very best 12 laps I’ve ever accomplished in an F1 race and from there on in, it was successfully simply deliver the automobile residence and do not grain the tyres and we’ll win this race.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photograph by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Pictures
“However Belgium was a correct battle. It was a roll of the cube [on strategy].
“I knew I could not make a single mistake, particularly when it got here to these final two and three laps.
“Lewis was in DRS, I needed to nail the primary nook as a result of the run was so lengthy to Flip 5 and realizing you may’t be too conservative as a result of he is on recent tyres and he’ll simply breeze previous, I can not lock up and make a mistake as a result of he’ll breeze previous, and simply realizing precisely how exhausting you may push.
“That was a drive I will endlessly be pleased with.”
On this article
Alex Kalinauckas
Formulation 1
George Russell
Mercedes
Be the primary to know and subscribe for real-time information e mail updates on these subjects
Subscribe to news alerts