British racing driver Jamie Chadwick believes George Russell
escaped a "world of pain" by being ill in Azerbaijan rather than
Singapore. Russell was unwell throughout the Azerbaijan GP,
forcing the driver to miss media day at the Baku City Circuit in an
attempt to be fit enough to drive. Despite still feeling under the
weather, Russell completed all sessions in Baku. The Briton
qualified in fifth but rose to finish second in the grand prix,
following a successful overcut on both Kimi Antonelli and Carlos
Sainz. A pivotal part of his podium finish was an aggressive
approach to the pit lane ahead of his pit stop, something which
impressed Chadwick. Race day was the best Russell had felt all
grand prix weekend, allowing him to speak to the media where he
revealed that had it been Singapore, he would not have raced.
Chadwick also raised this point following the Mercedes driver's
podium, noting how lucky the 27-year-old was that his illness did
not take place at the hot and humid Marina Bay Circuit. "I think
people are realising how ill he actually was across the weekend,
and I think he's a little bit lucky it was Baku," said Chadwick on
the the Sky F1 Show podcast. "I think he mentioned it as well, but
if it was Singapore or something, that would have been a whole
world of pain, and possibly not even possible for him to drive. I
think Baku is slightly less physically intense in that sense, but
an unbelievable drive. "I think his pace on the hard tyre was not
quite a match for Verstappen, but certainly a big step on anyone
else that he was surrounded by. And then the big stand up for me
with George was his pit entry. "I think if you watch his pit
entry, I sort of watched it through one eye, because it was
insanely committed, and he gained, I think, two seconds in that pit
entry phase. So I think all those little details gave him second
place."
escaped a "world of pain" by being ill in Azerbaijan rather than
Singapore. Russell was unwell throughout the Azerbaijan GP,
forcing the driver to miss media day at the Baku City Circuit in an
attempt to be fit enough to drive. Despite still feeling under the
weather, Russell completed all sessions in Baku. The Briton
qualified in fifth but rose to finish second in the grand prix,
following a successful overcut on both Kimi Antonelli and Carlos
Sainz. A pivotal part of his podium finish was an aggressive
approach to the pit lane ahead of his pit stop, something which
impressed Chadwick. Race day was the best Russell had felt all
grand prix weekend, allowing him to speak to the media where he
revealed that had it been Singapore, he would not have raced.
Chadwick also raised this point following the Mercedes driver's
podium, noting how lucky the 27-year-old was that his illness did
not take place at the hot and humid Marina Bay Circuit. "I think
people are realising how ill he actually was across the weekend,
and I think he's a little bit lucky it was Baku," said Chadwick on
the the Sky F1 Show podcast. "I think he mentioned it as well, but
if it was Singapore or something, that would have been a whole
world of pain, and possibly not even possible for him to drive. I
think Baku is slightly less physically intense in that sense, but
an unbelievable drive. "I think his pace on the hard tyre was not
quite a match for Verstappen, but certainly a big step on anyone
else that he was surrounded by. And then the big stand up for me
with George was his pit entry. "I think if you watch his pit
entry, I sort of watched it through one eye, because it was
insanely committed, and he gained, I think, two seconds in that pit
entry phase. So I think all those little details gave him second
place."
The post George Russell dealt 'world of pain' escape verdict after recent illness appeared first on RacingNews365.