George Russell Hub

Dedicated to the man behind car #63. News. Photos. Statistics. Analysis. Supporting George Russell every step of the way #GR63

Two-stop strategy. Three-stop timing. Zero consistency.

George Russell started his 100th Grand Prix with Mercedes from pole position. Led the race. Built a gap. Managed the tyres. Mercedes instructed Russell to look after his tyres during the opening stint. Yet instead of extending that stint and capitalising on the tyre life they had asked him to preserve, they brought him in early anyway. If you’re going to stop early, you tell your driver to push. If you’re asking him to save tyres, you extend the stint. You don’t do both. Then Mercedes handed the strategic initiative to Ferrari. Hamilton’s three-stop strategy was a threat long before it became decisive. Yet Mercedes neither chose to cover it nor committed to extending Russell’s stints and protecting track position. When the Virtual Safety Car arrived, Ferrari was perfectly positioned to take advantage of it. Pole position became P2. Numbers never lie. If you’re the lead car, you either cover the undercut or force the alternative strategy to beat you on pure pace. Mercedes did neither today. P2 is still a strong result. But Barcelona was a race Mercedes lost on the pit wall. #GR63 #SpanishGP

Hamilton wins. George Russell finished P2, unlucky VSC. Gap between George and 1st is now 50 points.

🏎️ VSC is deactivated and green flag now. Final lap. Hamilton leads, George behind by 19.2 seconds. Norris behind Russell by 4 seconds.

💥 KIMI ANTONELLI IS OUT OF THE RACE!!! 🚗 VSC IS OUT

Kimi Antonelli passes George Russell for P2. #GR63 #SpanishGP

Mercedes the first team ever to let a slower team dictate their entire strategy. This is exactly what Ferrari wanted.

@sixtythreenews The worst strategy is the one that commits to nothing. This felt like one of those.

You either stick to a 2-stop and extend every stint or mirror Lewis for every stop cuz you’re the lead car. Either of these would’ve covered George from an unlucky safety car. They had 2 options and made up a 3rd bullshit option 🤩

🚨 VSC. And George Russell is running P2. Twenty-six laps remain. The fight for victory is still alive. #GR63 #SpanishGP 💙🏁

🚨 New Hards fitted. 29 laps to go. George Russell rejoins in P3 after the final round of pit stops. The fight isn't over yet. #GR63 #SpanishGP 💙🏁

📻 Marcus Dudley: 🗣️ "Box, box. Pit this lap." #GR63 #SpanishGP

🚨 Kimi Antonelli closes to within 0.5s of George Russell. A Mercedes battle for the lead is underway. #GR63 #SpanishGP

🚨 P1 AGAIN. With Leclerc diving into the pits, George Russell retakes the lead of the Spanish Grand Prix. #GR63 #SpanishGP 💙🏁

🚨 Mercedes pulls George Russell into the pits on Lap 12. Russell trades his starting Mediums for a fresh set of Hard tyres, committing to a long second stint. #GR63 #SpanishGP

📻 Marcus Dudley: "Grip has stabilised now, George." #GR63 #SpanishGP

🚨 Russell is flying. After six laps, George leads Hamilton by 2.4s and has already broken Overtake range. Strong pace. Strong tyre management. Exactly what Mercedes needed. #GR63 #SpanishGP 💙🔥

🚨 WHAT A START FROM GEORGE RUSSELL! Russell remains in the lead through Sector 1 and has already built a 1-second advantage at the front. 💙

🚨 Strategy game on. George Russell starts from pole position on a fresh set of Medium tyres, with tyre degradation expected to be one of the key factors in today's race. Can Mercedes convert P1 into victory? 👀

🎙️: George, a big congratulations. Pole position for you out here in Barcelona. Momentum hasn't been on your side lately but you come back to the European season so how does it feel? 🗣️: It's been a great weekend so far I kinda feel like my old self again where every lap I'm doing my job always fighting for top positions. Obviously bit unlucky few races for numerous reasons haven't in our side. But I came into this weekend, felt good and it's great to be on pole. 🎙️: It's a very different track, a traditional circuit. You also had a step softer tyres so you tell us, how was your experience in qualifying in your car? 🗣️: I think it's gonna be an interesting race tomorrow, you know, Lewis did an amazing job and that was a real surprise. We thought of a fight between us and McLaren and Lewis has been really quick throughout the session. I'm sure we are gonna have a fight in our hands and Kimi did an excellent job so tomorrow is not going to be easy but I feel I'm ready.