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“I think we will be faster than Ferrari and Sergio Perez”– George Russell aims to steal points from Ferrari and Red Bull on Sunday

Tanish Chachra
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Daniel Ricciardo was ‘not aware’ about McLaren signing Oscar Piastri back in July

George Russell thinks his team would manage to out beat both Ferrari and Sergio Perez to win a podium in the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Dutch Grand Prix’s qualifying gave an incredible visual to the fans. The top 3 didn’t even have a one-tenth difference in the final results declared on Saturday.

Thus, it’s safe to say the final positions for the grid start could have been different if Sergio Perez, without his crash, had allowed a free run to others.

Mercedes’ George Russell got P6 in qualifying. Yet, he thinks that Mercedes can beat Ferrari and Sergio Perez. The Mexican race driver stands right next to him in the third row.

Meanwhile, Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Sainz stand at P2 and P3, respectively. Lewis Hamilton is at P4 and can find his way up with a right lunge.

Also read: Lewis Hamilton keen owning a stake in $4.2 Billion Premier League team takeover

Lewis Hamilton was going for a pole

Mercedes showed better weekend performance than Belgium. In the qualifying’s Q3, Hamilton indeed was having a promising performance. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff even claimed that the Briton was going for the pole.

He claims that Hamilton had a one-tenth pace advantage over both Leclerc and Verstappen. Thus, giving him the right condition to fetch the pole.

Alas, the crash by Perez launched a red flag, preventing the following drivers, including Hamilton, from improving their time. Thus, concluding the session and benefitting his teammate, who crossed the line before the incident happened.

George Russell thinks the last two races have been vital for understanding

In the last race, Mercedes was miserably poor, and this weekend has surely been progressing. Russell claims that he understands where Mercedes gained and lost in the last two weeks, and this has given Mercedes an understanding of how to make a faster car across 23 races.

“I understand why we were slow in Spa. I understand why we’re definitely faster this weekend. I haven’t quite looked ahead for the coming races,” said Russell.

“It’s quite unique our car at the moment, and these two races have been key to our understanding, how to make a faster car across 23 races.”

Also read: Daniel Ricciardo was ‘not aware’ about McLaren signing Oscar Piastri back in July

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra

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Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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