Mercedes doubted that Russell would get ahead of Sainz.

      George Russell got ahead of Carlos Sainz in the battle for second place in Baku thanks to a later pit stop. The team's technical director, James Allison, said that Mercedes had been confident that after the pit stop George would rejoin the track behind the Williams driver, but the flawless work of the mechanics and Russell's very fast lap before entering the pit lane helped him get ahead.

      James Allison: "It was an exhilarating moment in the race. We watched lap after lap as George was on the verge of making that overtake work. The team really thought that after the pit stop George would be back on track immediately behind Sainz, and he'd have to make up ground on track. So it was simply fantastic how he came out in front, and even with a one-second advantage or so.

      We had one of those pit stops where everything came together. It's not just about the guys with the wheel guns and the tyre changers – everything as a whole went perfectly and flawlessly.

      If you look at the pit-in lap, you'll see that George drove it incredibly quickly, gaining even more time than we expected, especially in the second half of the lap. It was nice to see it work out, and the later pit stop paid off."