George takes P3 in Monza
George takes his seventh podium of the season in Monza.
After a number of penalties, George lined up from P2 on the Soft Pirelli tyres alongside poleman Charles Leclerc.
As the lights went out, the duo began battling for the race lead with George having to run across the rumble strips at Turn Two to avoid contact, re-joining in P2.
On lap five of the 53-lap race, a hard-charging Max Verstappen caught George to take P2, pushing the Brit down to P3.
A virtual safety car for Sebastian Vettel sent Charles Leclerc into the pits on lap 12, moving George up into P2 once again.
The Brit maintained the position until his pitstop on lap 24 where he switched from the Soft to the Hard tyres, re-emerging behind Carlos Sainz Jr.
George didn’t have to wait long to move back into the podium positions as Sainz pitted on lap 30.
As the laps ticked down, Sainz started to eat away at the gap to George, but a late Safety Car for Daniel Ricciardo halted the Spaniards progress.
Seizing the opportunity, George pitted to switch onto the Soft tyres in preparation for the restart but difficulties removing Ricciardo’s car meant the race ended behind the Safety Car with George claiming another podium in P3.
George Russell – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team Driver
Unfortunately, this weekend we were not where we wanted to be as a team - but like I said on the radio, it doesn't matter if we are fast or slow, we keep getting these podium finishes. Over this triple header, two of the three weekends have been very difficult, and I've still come away with two podiums and a P4, so we've got to be satisfied with that.
Looking at today's race, we had to do something different if we wanted to fight with Max and Charles, so we went for the Hard tyre at the stop, but they were just too quick. That's all we could do in our position. Now we have some weeks to recharge, regroup as a team and prepare for the final part of this season, so we can take every opportunity that comes our way.