George Russell says Mercedes has so far maximised all they can after another podium in F1 Chinese GP, as Toto Wolff gives him 10 on 10 while Andrea Kimi Antonelli laments floor damage.
Having lost Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, Mercedes has come out with all guns blazing in the two races so far in 2025 season, especially on the side of Russell. The Brit has two podiums in two races, with the F1 Chinese GP being a much better one than a slightly lucky Australian GP one.
Nevertheless, Russell has seemingly stepped up from last year and has done a good enough job to be rated 10 out of 10 by team boss Wolff. The Brit feels Mercedes has maximised the results so far this year, which is crucial in the fight against McLaren and be ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull.
“I think just being fully maximised every time on track,” said Russell. “Really happy with qualifying, getting in between the McLarens. And then the race was really strong. Called it pretty early about the one-stop and it was a bit frustrating it was so clear in the end because I was hoping those guys ahead would have gone onto the two-stop.
“And we know at the moment we’re trying our best to catch McLaren—these guys are doing an amazing job. And for us to end up quite a bit ahead of Max and the Ferraris right now, that’s a great result. I think it was pretty vital. Obviously I lost out to Lando at the first corner. Oscar did a really good job at defending, and it’s always a bit difficult when it’s such a high-speed first corner.
“I thought I could sneak underneath him and he covered me pretty well. But for sure, if we qualified behind Max and the Ferraris yesterday, I don’t think we would have been standing on the podium today. So I think that was pretty crucial. I mean, we want to get the results obviously as a team and we’re working to try and catch up to McLaren.
“They’re the team to beat right now and we’re confident we can bring some performance, but they’re really doing an amazing job. We need to keep on scoring. The last two races, or the three races with the Sprint as well—the result we achieved was the maximum in all three. So that gives me a lot of satisfaction.
“And if we do deliver a car that is capable of fighting McLaren, I’ve no doubt we can finish ahead, because we’re doing such a solid job as a team. So yeah, we need to keep on pushing,” summed up Russell, as Wolff hailed the Brit’s drive off-late taking the mantle of being the lead driver.
“George’s driving was 10 out of 10,” said Wolff to media. I rarely give 10 out of 10, because I think he extracted the maximum out there in the race. I never give 10 out of 10, because I think there is always better. We haven’t seen the perfect race. But considering the circumstances that George had, it is a 10 out of 10 because he extracted the maximum of his car, the tyres, the strategy, and was a brilliant drive.”
On the other side, Antonelli hung around the back of the Top 10 to end up eighth in the order. But he gained couple of places to be sixth which is a good result considering he suffered floor damage on Lap 1 itself when he ran over the debris of Charles Leclerc’s front-wing endplate.
The Italian lost to Haas’ Esteban Ocon in the process but was helped by Visa Cash App RB’s decision to pit Yuki Tsunoda. Antonelli feels he is learning well so far, but he needs to put it together now. “I felt something was weird, and then apparently, the team told me, I had floor damage from lap one,” he said to media. “And now thinking back, I know where I could have got the damage.
“So when Leclerc lost the wing, I hit it with the floor. I remember going over it. But I didn’t really think at the time that there was some damage. But obviously, yeah, I struggled. I need to see the data where I struggled, the pace was there, I need to of course improve and try to put it together for better result. It was weird. I was really struggling with traction, combined traction was a real struggle.
“I couldn’t really go on power, I really needed to wait until a certain moment, because the car otherwise was snapping, but you know, it could explain the damage. I think without the damage, it could have been a different race. As I said, I know the pace is there because obviously George did a great job out there, so now it is the time to analyse and come back stronger in Japan.”
Much like Russell, team boss Wolff had praise for Antonelli too considering the damage he had. “He got extensive floor damage,” he said. “We don’t know actually why, whether we ran over Charles’s endplate, but we had like massive holes in the floor and titanium streaks that were gone.
“So considering that he had a car that was severely impaired, finishing eighth, holding on to it, not complaining, just getting on with the job, shows the potential and the maturity the young man has. And obviously Driver of the Day, so you also see where the fan demographic is. Something important is Formula 1, that we remind ourselves.”
Here’s race start: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2025-chinese-grand-prix-piastri-leads-from-pole-as-norris-jumps-russell.1827367910236875162
Here’s Esteban Ocon on move on Andrea Kimi Antonelli
