Toto Wolff consoles George Russell after a missed opportunity at the F1 Las Vegas GP

Mercedes star George Russell finished on the podium at the 2025 Las Vegas GP after starting the race in P4. The Briton could’ve finished P2 at the street race as Lando Norris faced an issue in the last couple of laps. Team Principal Toto Wolff took to the team radio and consoled Russell after the missed opportunity. George Russell qualified P4 and was able to get up into P2 after an amazing start. The Briton ran in P2 for the first stint but was later overtaken by Lando Norris. With Max Verstappen being the last driver who started on the medium to pit, the Dutchman came out just a second ahead of Russell. The Briton pushed his Mercedes on older, but up to temperature tires in an attempt to overtake the Red Bull driver, but wasn’t able to do the same. After following Max Verstappen for a couple of laps, George Russell fell back and was then passed by Lando Norris. Russell took to the team radio and explained how he damaged his tires while pushing in an attempt to overtake Max Verstappen. In the last couple of laps at the Las Vegas GP, Lando Norris was instructed by the team to lift and coast to the finish line following what was a suspected brake issue. George Russell was just a few seconds behind Norris, and Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff took to the team radio to console his driver after the missed opportunity. “George, Congratulations on the podium. Really good. I agree with you. Probably those two laps with Verstappen, that’s what did the damage. But a podium is a podium,” said Toto Wolff “Exactly, can’t change the result,” responded Russell Had the Briton not pushed as hard to overtake Max, better tires would’ve likely meant that he finished ahead of Norris. George Russell nursed a steering issue at the Las Vegas GP Whilst running P2 at the Las Vegas GP, George Russell took to the team radio and complained about a “steering issue” on Lap 14. The Briton nursed the same issue throughout the race and likely lost multiple tenths every lap. During the post-race interview, Russell was questioned by David Coulthard about the steering issue and whether the Mercedes driver nursed the same throughout the race. George Russell replied, “Yeah, it was there throughout.” However, Russell detailed how it was the tire situation which hurt him more than the steering wheel issue, as he added, “Honestly it was the tires. When Max made the pit, I thought I had a chance, he had the cold tires and I really pushed hard and damaged the tires. There on in I was on the team radio saying ‘I’m not sure this tire is going to make it to the end. Really difficult.” Russell’s teammate, Kimi Antonelli, finished the race in P4 on track, and was demoted to P5 after the time penalty for the false start was applied.
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