George Russell sounds Ferrari warning after Dutch GP Sprint win

ZANDVOORT – George Russell has admitted Ferrari remain a serious threat to Mercedes at the Dutch GP despite his Sprint victory.

Russell repelled Charles Leclerc’s late charge to ensure he converted pole position in the weekend’s shorter-length race at Zandvoort to reignite his championship charge.

George Russell warns of Ferrari threat after Sprint win

The Briton’s title bid encountered another seismic blow in the final race prior to the summer break in Hungary, when an issue saw him drop 15 places to 21st at the start.

There was no such trouble this time around, however, as Russell nailed the launch to retain the lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris and Leclerc’s Ferrari heading into Turn 1.

“I wasn’t nervous at all because Hungary was a technical issue with the race start and was sort of nothing really I could have done and we put some precautions in place to avoid that happening,” Russell told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media.

“So I wasn’t nervous at all. Felt pretty calm, pretty relaxed, and was just excited to get racing again.”

Russell edged clear as Norris dropped back into Leclerc’s clutches, culminating in the Ferrari driver diving down the McLaren’s inside into Turn 1 on Lap 18 to take second.

But while Leclerc closed the gap to the Mercedes ahead to under two seconds, Russell held on to secure maximum points, the Briton revealing that he had controlled his pace in the opening exchanges in order to have enough in hand in the latter stages.

“I was just managing the tyres a little bit at the early stage of the race because I knew if there were going to be any overtakes, it would be in the latter phase,” he elucidated.

“And we saw yesterday morning how fast Ferrari were, so I was just keeping a bit in the tank for the end. And as soon as I saw Charles get ahead of Lando, sort of picked up the pace, and the two of us pulled away, so I think it was a well-managed race.”

Russell revealed he had been unaware that Leclerc had run the Sprint on the Soft tyre, admitting that the Monegasque’s lap times holding up on the grippier but less durable red-walled compound could open up the strategic possibilities available to the teams.

“I didn’t even realise,” he replied when asked whether he was surprised that Leclerc was on the Soft tyre. “You learn something new, even afterwards.

“That’s surprising to hear. So yeah, obviously gives us a bit of a choice into tomorrow.”

Russell, who came into the weekend 56 points behind Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship, expressed that the win had provided him with some much-needed reassurance as he continues to chase a maiden world title.

“Yeah, definitely confidence is higher than it was 24 hours ago,” he said.

“But it’s so close. Yesterday there was a tenth between the top four drivers. Kimi was very close as well. Lewis was faster [through] the session [in practice], so there’s probably six drivers all in the fight for pole.

“And when it comes down to that one lap in Q3, it can kind of go any way.

“So you know that was my time yesterday. I hope I can convert again this afternoon, but it will be a tough fight.”

Reporting by Taylor Powling

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