The 2021 Belgian GP was infamous for several reasons and the weather contributed to the majority of incidents. Rain affected the entire weekend, and in qualifying, visibility was horrible. Regardless, the session went ahead uninterrupted, until Lando Norris suffered a horrific crash on Eau Rouge. This scared the majority of the F1 grid, including George Russel,l but the Briton interestingly took something valuable out of it that led to his first-ever podium finish with Williams.
Norris‘ crash brought out the red flag, and drivers were sitting in their cars for over 30 minutes, waiting for the marshals to clear the debris out. Russell took this time to watch Norris’ replay. In an interview later (posted on YouTube by FormuleFans), he said,
“I started watching Lando’s videos. And I saw Lando has done a slightly different line at turn 1. He was going tight at turn 1 and one of the only drivers to do that.”
Russell revealed that when the session restarted, he did exactly what Norris did and got a purple sector one showing he was faster than anyone else at that part of the circuit. To everyone’s surprise, he guided his Williams car to a P2 finish in qualifying behind Max Verstappen that afternoon.
If you’re in trouble, he’s got your back
We should all try and be a bit more Seb #BelgianGP #F1 @LandoNorris pic.twitter.com/md9Lz41iQY
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2021
To make things even better for Russell, he ended up on the podium the very next day, but it was under very controversial circumstances.
How George Russell got his first-ever podium without racing?
On Sunday, fans were worried about the weather at Spa-Francorchamps playing a role in the race’s outcome. But what unfolded remains one of the most bizarre outings in F1 history. Fans were glued to their television screens for hours but saw only two laps of racing action – both behind the safety car.
As a result, no driver could overtake. They ended the race just as they started. Max Verstappen got the win and his title rival Lewis Hamilton came P3. However, all eyes were on George Russell who got a podium for Williams, a team that has been an established backmarker in the recent past.
A delighted @GeorgeRussell63 couldn’t stop smiling after he powered to P2 and a place on the front row for Sunday’s race at Spa #BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/eMCT8HbsEe
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2021
Had the race taken place under normal circumstances, it is very likely that Russell would have fallen down the pecking order. This was his first-ever podium in F1 and would turn out to be his only with Williams. In 2022, the British driver switched to Mercedes in a long-awaited move and is being labeled as a future world champion.
