© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Here is the transcript of the post 2025 Chinese Grand Prix track interviews and press conference featuring George Russell!
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Ho Pin Tung)
Q: George, P3, congratulations. You looked quite racy in the beginning. Did you feel at any moment there was more possible than P3, perhaps?
George RUSSELL: Yeah, it’s a great result finishing P3, especially in front of all these fans here. It’s just been amazing support for everybody this weekend, so thank you so much for that. But yeah, really great race, really pleased with the P3. We knew the McLarens were a smidge quicker than us at a few crucial points, but well done to them.
Q: Yeah, it looked like you kind of set the path for all the others as well. You were one of the first to call that a one-stop strategy was possible.
GR: Yeah, I felt it from quite early on that a one-stop could be possible and it turned out to be slightly easier than we probably all anticipated. But nevertheless, the car’s been great this weekend. Probably one of my best weekends in Formula 1 in terms of the overall performance, so I’m really pleased with that, and just really maximising every single time out on track. So pleased again to be on the podium.
Q: Yeah, I guess a little bit of a lonely race perhaps for you. Did you expect more pressure from behind?
GR: I mean, Charles was putting me under quite a lot of pressure for a few laps after the pit stop, and obviously it was a bit dicey with Lando for a few laps, but from there on it was quite a straightforward race.
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PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Let’s come to you now, George. Well done to you as well. You said this is one of your best weekends in Formula 1. What’s been especially satisfying about it?
GR: I think just being fully maximised every time on track. Really happy with qualifying yesterday, getting in between the McLarens. And then the race today was really strong. Called it pretty early about the one-stop and it was a bit frustrating it was so clear in the end because I was hoping those guys ahead would have gone onto the two-stop. And we know at the moment we’re trying our best to catch McLaren—these guys are doing an amazing job. And for us to end up quite a bit ahead of Max and the Ferraris right now, that’s a great result.
Q: You started on the front row. How important was that to ensure you finished on the podium?
GR: Yeah, I think it was pretty vital. Obviously I lost out to Lando at the first corner. Oscar did a really good job at defending, and it’s always a bit difficult when it’s such a high-speed first corner. I thought I could sneak underneath him and he covered me pretty well. But for sure, if we qualified behind Max and the Ferraris yesterday, I don’t think we would have been standing on the podium today. So I think that was pretty crucial.
Q: And how do you see Mercedes’ pace relative to the McLarens now after a sample of two races?
GR: I think their strength is probably in tyre management. And today we saw the one-stop was pretty comfortable. So let’s see when we go to a circuit where it’s much more overheating, like we saw in Melbourne on the Intermediate tyres or like we saw in Bahrain testing. They were even stronger. So they did an amazing job. These two have done a great job, and we need to keep pushing to close that gap.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Zixuan Xiong – China Grand Motorsport). I have a question for George. You achieved a decent result today and your teammate is the Driver of the Day. Do you think it’s a boost for Mercedes?
GR: Congratulations to him. Yeah, I mean, we want to get the results obviously as a team and we’re working to try and catch up to McLaren. They’re the team to beat right now and we’re confident we can bring some performance, but they’re really doing an amazing job. We need to keep on scoring. The last two races, or the three races with the Sprint as well—the result we achieved was the maximum in all three. So that gives me a lot of satisfaction. And if we do deliver a car that is capable of fighting McLaren, I’ve no doubt we can finish ahead, because we’re doing such a solid job as a team. So yeah, we need to keep on pushing.
Source: FIA.com
