Russell survives Hamilton's late charge to secure Dutch GP podium for Mercedes

George Russell clung on to third place at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, fending off a late surge from Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari to keep Mercedes on the podium after a strategically complicated afternoon.

Russell had qualified second but was overtaken by team-mate Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap. He regained the position after the pit stops, only to be instructed by the team to move aside for Antonelli in the latter stages as the Italian was on an alternate strategy with a tyre offset. That swap left Russell immediately exposed to Hamilton, who was scything through the field and leading both Ferraris in a late charge.

“It was tough,” Russell said after the race. “I think Kimi’s and my race was kind of the opposite. I had a tough medium stint, he had a very strong medium stint, then I had a strong hard stint, he was struggling. But that VSC gave Lewis the free pitstop, and obviously Kimi pitted as well. From there on in, I knew I was going to be under threat, but I was managing enough in the high-speed corners to allow me to be fast in sector three and defending into Turn 1. So, I was pleased with that performance.”

The result nonetheless represented a difficult weekend for Mercedes. McLaren won at both the Hungarian Grand Prix and again at Zandvoort following the summer break, and Russell acknowledged the Silver Arrows face a testing run of races ahead.

“I think these coming two or three race weekends will be a challenge for us both, purely because we’re out of sync with the upgrades,” he said. “I believe Ferrari have an engine upgrade incoming for Monza, and the truth is we just don’t know. But I do believe that these high-degradation circuits really suit McLaren very well, and especially Lando. He’s always been a bit of a specialist in those conditions. We also saw it last year. Monza may be slightly different, but I think they are the team to beat right now.”

Despite the back-to-back McLaren victories, Mercedes still leads both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. Russell sits second in the drivers’ standings, level with Hamilton on 183 points, with championship leader Antonelli 59 points clear of the pair.