Mercedes driver George Russell didn’t hide his emotions after the Safety Car restart in Azerbaijan saw him lose a place to Aston Martin rival Lance Stroll.
Russell had an uphill battle to climb going into Azerbaijan after he suffered a poor qualifying session, lining up in P11.
However, the Brit managed to have a swift change in fortune from the green light, gaining several places to put himself in contention for points.
Seeing the Safety Car deployed following an incident involving AlphaTauri’s Nyck De Vries, Russell dove into the pits and managed to slide past Stroll with a cheeky move that was investigated by the FIA stewards.
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With no penalty imposed, Stroll was forced to fight on track to regain his position, managing to nab the spot back from Russell on the safety car restart.
Russell fell back from sixth to P8 when the Canadian and his own teammate Lewis Hamilton passed him swiftly after the green flags were waved.
“Well that was a s*** restart, sorry guys,” Russell said, not holding back his emotions.
Hamilton’s swift overtake would ultimately prove to be the right move for the team, as the Brit would also manage to get past Stroll to deliver a P6 finish for the team.
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Mercedes needed the overtake to remain in their battle with Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Standings, especially as a resurgent Ferrari is putting pressure on the Silver Arrows.
Going into Miami next week, Red Bull holds a commanding lead in the 2023 Constructors’ Standings with 180 points, almost 100 ahead of Aston Martin’s 87
Mercedes are back in P3 on 76 and Ferrari have closed the gap to the Silver Arrows after Azerbaijan, now only 14 points behind in P4.