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George Russell was more than happy to be able to capitalize on Max Verstappen's misfortune en route to his first podium as a Mercedes driver at the 2022 F1 Australian GP.
The Briton claimed P3 for the Silver Arrows, inheriting the place after the defending world champion had to retire his Red Bull RB18 due to reliability issues.
When asked to share his thoughts on the good luck he had during a post-race interview with former F1 driver Mark Webber, Russell said:
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we’ve got to be in it to win it and capitalize from others’ misfortunes and obviously, we got a little bit lucky today, probably twice, but you know, we’ll take it and there’s so much hard work going on back at Brackley and Brixworth to try and get it back to the front so to be standing on the podium is special.”
The 24-year-old ended the race weekend with 37 points in his kitty. He is currently in P2 in the drivers' world championship standings, behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
"We can come back fighting" – George Russell expects Mercedes to recoup from tough start to 2022 F1 season
George Russell is backing his Mercedes team to bounce back after a tough start to the 2022 F1 season.
Speaking in an interview prior to the Australian GP, Russell recounted the Silver Arrows' struggles in Bahrain and Jeddah, claiming they need to be cautious and opportunistic. He said:
“We need to be in almost damage limitation mode at the moment, pick up the pieces, when there’s an opportunity, don’t throw away unnecessary points, even though it may just be for fifth or sixth or hopefully, a bit higher, and make sure we were within touching distance always. Then, hopefully, when the car does improve, we can come back fighting.”
Mercedes have been able to bag two improbable podiums in three races despite not having a car nearly as good as Ferrari and Red Bull. Russell and Lewis Hamilton will hope to be able to fight on merit as the 2022 F1 season progresses.
Reports suggest Mercedes' next update could be seen on the W13 either at the Emilia Romagna GP or the inaugural Miami GP.
