Russell: The team is doing everything to catch up with McLaren

      After the finish, George Russell summed up the weekend in Shanghai.…

      Q: George, you said that this is one of your best weekends in Formula 1. What makes you particularly happy?George Russell: In every session, I gave my best on the track. I was very pleased with Saturday's qualifying, where I was able to separate the McLaren drivers. I'm happy with the race too.

      I was hoping that the drivers ahead of me would make two pit stops. Right now, our team is doing everything to catch up with McLaren, and the fact that I ended up finishing ahead of Max and Ferrari is a great result.

       Q: Was it important to start from the front row to finish on the podium?George Russell: Very important. Obviously, I lost to Lando in the first corner. Oscar defended very well, and it's always difficult in a high-speed corner. I thought I could get through, but he shut me down pretty well. Of course, if I had qualified behind Max and Ferrari on Saturday, I would hardly have been able to get on the podium in the race.

      Q: How would you rate Mercedes' speed relative to McLaren after two Grands Prix?George Russell: Their strong quality is tire control. Let's see what happens when we find ourselves on a track where the tires are very hot, like in Melbourne on intermediate tires or like in the Bahrain tests. They were even stronger there. McLaren did a great job, and we need to try to close the gap.

      Question: You have achieved a decent result, your team-mate has become the "racer of the day". Do you consider this to be Mercedes' strong point?George Russell: Congratulations to my partner. The team is working, now our main rival is McLaren, and we need to do a lot to beat them. They're doing a great job, but we need to make progress and try to get maximum points in each race.

      In the last two races, or even three, if we take into account the sprint, we have shown the best possible result for us, which I am very pleased with. If at some point we have a car that can compete with McLaren, I have no doubt that we will be able to finish ahead, because we have prepared well for this. In the meantime, we need to keep working.