George Russell is hopeful Mercedes' long-awaited car upgrade at the Bahrain Grand Prix will further help his performances as he bids to build on his return to winning ways from Azerbaijan last week. Russell dominated the Baku event to secure his first win in seven races and claim the maiden 'Grand Slam' of his Formula 1 career, leading every lap from pole position and setting the fastest lap.
The Briton had been happier with his performances in Mercedes' W17 since the August summer break, yet he had still finished behind title-leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli in each of the previous three races, with Antonelli extending his championship advantage to 81 points after victory in Madrid. But after reducing that deficit by 15 points last Saturday on a weekend that Antonelli finished only fifth after crashing in qualifying, Russell is feeling optimistic as he goes in search of the first back-to-back wins of his F1 career on the sport's return to Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit.
"As I've really said this whole season, firstly I never really felt in a position to fight for the victories because I didn't feel that the performances were strong enough," replied Russell when asked if another win could sow some doubts in Antonelli's mind. "But now, finally, I feel I'm in a place where I can fight for victory week in week out." Russell said that "I don't really feel lost anymore" and that his "confidence is back and growing again". He reiterated that all the pressure was on Antonelli in the chase for the Drivers' Championship.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing