Belgian GP 2021: How George Russell wowed everyone with an incredible P2 start
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George Russell
While George Russell has had a perfect debut with Mercedes this year after repeatedly outscoring teammate and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, the Briton got used to achieveing extraordinary results even before he started driving for the German manufacturer. As the current F1 season is all set to resume next week with the Belgian GP right around the corner, fans are all looking back at last year’s race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, where George Russell put an amazing lap to get himself a P2 finish during the Main Race in his Williams.
George Russell’s reputation around the F1 paddocks as Mr. Saturday is not baseless, since the young racer tends to get the best performance out of his car during the Qualifying. Even though Williams have been suffering in the last few seasons due to their poorly developed racecars, Russell wowed everyone when he successfully put his FW43B into the P2 position. With that, the Briton set himself up for a front row start alongside Max Verstappen, who won the pole position at Spa.
It had been 20 years since Williams had found themselves at the front row in Spa, and thus, a lot rested on Russell’s shoulders. For a team that failed to score a single point throughout the 2020 season, this P2 starting position meant a great deal.
George Russell excels at racing with a P2 start in his Williams in Belgium
George Russell‘s P2 lap was such a marvel that people still cannot help discuss it every time the topic of the Belgian Grand Prix is brought up. He could have gotten the provisional pole in Q3, but Max Verstappen bettered his own lap time and snatched the topmost spot. But still, the brilliant P2 start has made the journey smoother for George as he will be heading into Sunday’s Main Race–his 50th Grand Prix start in F1.
The heavy rain had made conditions worse during the Qualifying, and Russell took advantage of that. Speaking of his P2 start, Russell said, “It is an amazing feeling, and we definitely did not expect to be starting on the front-row! The driving is one thing, but you need to have everything right around you and often in these moments, that is what it’s all about. I knew my last effort was a good lap. It was so tricky out there but because we’re not in Q3 every week, I had the luxury of really being able to put everything on the line and go for it.”
Ultimately, Russell managed to come second in the race and got his only podium finish of 2021. The other podium winners were the Championship rivals Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes
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Riddhi Mondal
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