Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes: “We are not kidding ourselves” / Formula 1

George Russell unexpectedly achieved his third podium finish of the season in Azerbaijan – after third place in Montreal and victory in Austria.

A parallel to the race in Styria: Back then, Russell supported the collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, now the crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez.

Andrew Shovlin, chief engineer of the Mercedes-Benz GP racing team, said in his debriefing of the Baku road GP: “Sure, it was nice to get a podium finish, but let's not kid ourselves – we were not good enough at the Azerbaijan weekend.”

“We had a weak first part of the race with both drivers on medium-hard tyres. The rear tyres overheated and we seemed to be in serious trouble. With the hard Pirelli tyres it is much better. George now had a largely clear run and was able to get the best out of his tyres without the turbulence of the driver in front.”

“We lost too much time in the first part to catch up with the leading group, but George's overtaking manoeuvre on Max Verstappen was important to get that podium place.”

“Lewis had a very difficult afternoon. He was stuck in the DRS traffic jam, which meant that the drivers in front of him were all able to flatten their rear wings, and then it was very difficult for the driver chasing him to make up a place. Whenever Hamilton got closer, the tires immediately started to overheat.”

The technician's conclusion: “All in all, we didn't deserve a podium place in Baku.” We want to change that in Singapore.”

Azerbaijan GP, ​​Baku City Circuit

01. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:32:58.007 h
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +10.910 sec.
03. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +31.328
04. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +36.143
05. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, +1:17.098 min
06. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, +1:25.468
07. Alex Albon (T), Williams, +1 lap, +1:27.396
08. Franco Colapinto (RA), Williams, +1:29.541
09. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +1:32.401
10. Oliver Bearman (GB), Haas, +1:33.127
11. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, +1:33.465
12. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +1:57.189
13. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bulls, +2:26.907
14. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Clean, +2:28.841
15. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, +1 lap
16. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, +1 lap
Out of
Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, crash
Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, accident
Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, brakes
Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, Crash

World Championship standings (after 17 of 24 Grands Prix and 3 of 6 sprints)

driver
01. Verstappen 313 points
02. Norris254
03. Leclerc235
04. Piastri 222
05.Sainz184
06. Hamilton166
07. Russell143
08. Perez 143
09.Alonso-58
10. Walk 24
11. Hulkenberg 22
12. Tsunoda22
13. Albon12
14. Ricciardo12
15. Gasly-8
16. Oliver Bearman (GB) 7
17. Magnussens 6
18. Ocon 5
19. Colapinto 4
20. Zhou-0
21. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0
22. Bottas-0

Constructors' Cup
02. McLaren 476 points
01. Red Bull Racing 456
03. Ferrari 425
04. Mercedes-Benz 309
05. Aston-Martin 82
06. Racing Bulls 34
07. Haas-29
09. Williams 16
08. Alpine 13
10. Clean 0