British Formula One driver George Russell placed third in the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He’d previously placed P8 in 2023, and P4 in last year’s Sprint at the street circuit.

Interruptions throughout FP1

George and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team began Free Practice One by running Medium tyres. The street circuit was very green during FP1, resulting in drivers struggling for grip.

The session was interrupted by Red Flags three times. Following the third interruption, George completed shorter runs on the Soft compound.

He finished the weekend’s first Free Practice in eighth.  

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN FP1 HIGHLIGHTS

Power unit change for George

A precautionary power unit change meant George missed the start of FP2, but strong work by the team to get him out on track meant George was able to head out with 35 minutes still left on the clock.

George’s initial run was on Hards. He completed 12 laps before pitting for Softs and heading straight back out.

Setting his fastest time in the last few minutes of the session, George finished in ninth.

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN FP2 HIGHLIGHTS

First in FP3

There were a few light drops of rain in FP3, as well as temperatures lower than in Friday’s sessions.

Red Flags caused further interruptions throughout the weekend’s final Free Practice.

George headed straight out on Soft tyres following the session’s first Red Flag. However, another Red Flag occurred later in the session but resumed with 20 minutes remaining.

George worked on gathering more valuable data for the team and improved on his time to finish in P1.

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN FP3 HIGHLIGHTS

Top five in Qualifying

George came straight out in Q1. He ran two laps on Medium tyres before switching to the Soft compound.

Finishing Q1 in ninth, George was safely through to Q2, which he began with a run on used Softs. He was P4 after initial laps and observed that track evolution was beginning to plateau.

Switching to a fresh set of Softs, George began his final lap of the session with just over two minutes to go. He improved on his time and got through to Q3 in P4.

After his first Q3 attempt, George was fourth, 0.352 seconds off pole. With fresh Softs, he improved on this time on his second run.

George ultimately classified P5, with only 0.069 seconds separating him from third.

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Podium in the City of Winds

George began the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on fresh Mediums. He was overtaken by Max Verstappen on the first lap and moved into sixth.

A few laps later, George was setting faster lap times than Verstappen and was looking to close the gap. However, he was careful not to use up his tyres too quickly.

George came in for his first pit at the end of Lap 12. After switching to Hards, he came out in P12.

As more drivers pitted and George made strong progress, he was in eighth by Lap 16.

On Lap 32, George was closing in on Verstappen once again and was in DRS range. A few laps later, he made the overtake into Turn 1 and secured sixth place.

By Lap 38, George was up to P5 after Lando Norris pitted ahead.

Following a crash between Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz during the closing stages, George entered the podium positions. Securing third, he scored 15 points and moved up to seventh in the Drivers’ Standings.

The 2024 F1 season will resume on 20-22 September for the Singapore Grand Prix.

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

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George Russell, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team driver:

It was a really strange race today. It was very difficult on the Medium tyre in my first stint. I was over one second off the ultimate pace and finding it hard to control the rear tyre surface temperatures. On the Hard tyre in my second stint, the car felt brilliant. In the final 20 laps, I was lapping one second quicker than those at the very front. It is hard to work out exactly why this was and is a little frustrating.

We were fortunate to get onto the podium and I am glad that both Carlos (Sainz) and Checo (Perez) are OK. We were having a relatively quiet run to P5 after I got past Verstappen, but we will take it. It is a good reward for all the efforts of the team after a challenging weekend on the whole.

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