The 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP proved to be a strong weekend for Mercedes’ George Russell. Though he initially crossed the line in 3rd, Mercedes benefitted from both McLaren’s post-race disqualification. As a result, this elevated Russell to 2nd and his teammate Kimi Antonelli to 3rd to secure the team a double podium-finish. Coming into the weekend, the team’s previous success at the circuit suggested they could deliver another strong performance — and they did.
A steering issue in Qualifying denied Russell the chance to improve on his final run in Q3, leaving him to settle for 4th. However, a brilliant launch off the line saw the Briton overtake Norris on the first lap and briefly looked to be in contention for the win. Speaking in the post-race press conference, the 27 year-old reflected on the race, championship picture and how the consistency of the W16 has enabled him to deliver such results this season.
Steering issues and overworked tyres ruined Russell’s race
The Briton explained that the same steering issue from Qualifying had reappeared in the early stages of the race, forcing him to adapt his driving while managing to stay competitive in the first stint. However, following his pit stop, he shared how he’d overworked his tyres and was left struggling in left-handed corners.
“Well, I had the same steering issue as I had yesterday after about five laps. But after probably four laps after the issue, I was managing to drive around it. The pace was not bad in the first stint. Obviously made a good start. Probably only a tenth or so slower than Max in that first stint. Then after the pit stop, I saw that opportunity to attack and just pushed really hard for two laps, and I destroyed my tyres. I knew with about 16 laps to go—or probably 20—it was going to be very challenging to get to the end. So it wasn’t very enjoyable, to be honest, because I just couldn’t get around left-hand corners.”
Prior to Norris’ disqualification, when asked whether he thought a P2 finish was achievable, Russell admitted that he wasn’t sure. The Briton said: “I don’t know, to be honest. You can always have that debate. But honestly, if I was sat in Lando’s position now, it doesn’t change anything for me. I want to fight for victories, I saw that half an opportunity, I thought Max was going to struggle a bit more on his out lap, and I had to go for it. And if I nursed my tyres in those laps, I’d be sitting here still in P3, maybe wondering if only I could have attacked when I had the opportunity. So no regrets. It just wasn’t an enjoyable race.”
Consistency of the W16
Since the start of the season, Russell has impressed throughout the paddock with his strong results. Currently sitting 4th in the Drivers’ Standings with 294 points, his Las Vegas podium marked his ninth of the year. With two races remaining, Russell noted how the W16’s consistency has given him and the team a much stronger baseline to be competitive at almost every circuit.
“I think we have a car this year that’s just more consistent over 24 races. I think our car last year was either exceptionally strong or exceptionally weak. And that’s really why we had more highlight moments last year as a team. But over 24 races, we scored substantially less points. So, of course, you want to win races, but the goal ultimately is to score as many points as possible in a season. And we have a car this year that has given us a substantially better opportunity to achieve that than we had 12 months ago.”
The spectacle of racing in Las Vegas
The Las Vegas GP returned to the calendar in 2023, and while racing in the “Sin City” has drawn mixed reactions from drivers, teams and fans, Russell shared how the weekend brings its own challenges — particularly with it being the start of a triple-header and a night race.
Russell said: “Yeah. I think overall the weekend’s very enjoyable, and they’ve done a great job. It’s been evolving over these three years. Of course, it is a massive challenge—the time zone, not just for us, but for the thousands of people who travel to every single race. So I guess it’d probably be nicer if this was a standalone race rather than back-to-back. But either way, at this time—and if you’re going to do a night race in Vegas—whichever way you do it, it’s going to be very challenging.”
