Russell wants more after his fifth place finish

Former Wisbech Grammar School student George Russell still wants more after he finished fifth at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Russell got much the better of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton on a disappointing weekend for the team overall, with the seven-times world champion ending up 10th.

And after the underwhelming opener in Bahrain, where Russell finished a career-high fourth, Sunday was another race where the Silver Arrows could not offer a threat to the leading duo of Red Bull and Ferrari.

Russell was asked after the race if he felt there had been any improvement in Mercedes’ performance on Bahrain.

“I don’t know, because we were still on average a second behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the race then,” said Russell.

“So we’re making baby steps at the moment, we need to make some bigger leaps, I’m sure we can do that.

“Timeline I don’t know, at the end of the day the others are continuing to improve as well, so we’re improving, they’re improving, we just need to do it at a faster rate.”

Russell said the race was still an ‘enjoyable’ experience and the ‘most physical race’ he has ever experienced in Formula 1.

“It was quite an enjoyable race considering I was all by myself throughout, pushing as hard as I could,” Russell told Sky Sports.

“Probably I would say that was the most physical race I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1, which was pretty cool to experience really because that’s what it’s all about really, pushing hard on a mega circuit like this, high-speed.

“I think all the drivers were pushed to the limit in that race.

“But I want to be doing this for victories, not for fifth all by myself.

“We have work to do, but maximised everything.

“The car was feeling generally good to be honest, the balance of the car was great and it felt really really nice to drive.

“We’re just lacking overall grip so there’s not a lot more we can do from that. I think that was the maximum today.”

There is a break from racing this weekend before the Australian GP is staged in Melbourne on Sunday, April 10.

George Russell contemplates his fifth place finish in Saudi Arabia