“We had to do something different if we wanted to fight” – George Russell

George Russell endured a somewhat quiet Italian Grand Prix, with the British driver securing his second podium finish of the triple-header, which came to a close at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

The Brit made a good start from second-place, but was unable to battle with polesitter Charles Leclerc. It wasn’t long until Russell was down to third, as eventual race winner Max Verstappen rapidly made his way past the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver, before starting his pursuit of Leclerc.

From that moment onwards the race was very uneventful for the British driver, who claimed a solid third-place finish. The result moves him to within seven points of Sergio Pérez in the Drivers’ Championship, with the Mexican currently occupying third.

Russell was disappointed with the W13’s pace in Monza, but is “satisfied” to have left a difficult weekend with another podium.

“Unfortunately, this weekend we were not where we wanted to be as a team – but like I said on the radio, it doesn’t matter if we are fast or slow, we keep getting these podium finishes. Over this triple header, two of the three weekends have been very difficult, and I’ve still come away with two podiums and a P4, so we’ve got to be satisfied with that.

“Looking at today’s race, we had to do something different if we wanted to fight with Max and Charles, so we went for the Hard tyre at the stop, but they were just too quick. That’s all we could do in our position. Now we have some weeks to recharge, regroup as a team and prepare for the final part of this season, so we can take every opportunity that comes our way.”

“This wasn’t our best track” – Lewis Hamilton

On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Lewis Hamilton pulled off an excellent recovery drive from nineteenth-place, as the seven-time World Champion crossed the line in fifth.

The British driver struggled to make places early on whilst on a heavy fuel load, but eventually began to pick-off the midfield runners when his tyres finally had enough temperature in them. Hamilton opted for a long first stint on the Mediums before going onto the Softs, where he pulled off an incredible move on the exit of the opening chicane, where he overtook Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris.

Hamilton’s pace on the Softs was strong, with the Brit also managing to overtake Pérez late on, with the Mexican having made a late pit-stop. Hamilton would’ve most likely have come under pressure from the Mexican had it not been for the race finishing under a Safety Car, as a result of Daniel Ricciardo retiring on track whilst his car was stuck in gear.

The rules were followed as they were written, with people instantly comparing it to the 2021 season finale, where the rulebook was thrown out the window.

Hamilton “had a lot of fun” making his way through the field, with the British driver “pleased” with the result.

“This morning, the team said anywhere between sixth and fourth was possible. That always feel like a stretch when you’re looking ahead at the race – but I had a lot of fun working my way to P5. The beginning was a struggle, with a heavy fuel load and the tyres overheating in traffic, but then we started to make progress as the race unfolded – and I had some fun after the stops working through the traffic.

“At the end, we stayed out to keep the position on track and it might have been a tough battle if the race restarted, so I’m glad it finished the way it did! Overall, we knew this was going to be a tough weekend with the engine penalty, so I’m pleased to come away with a P5 finish and to have pulled everything out of the car. This wasn’t our best track but we did everything we could as a team, and I hope we have some stronger weekends ahead before the end of the season.”