For the second time in his three-year stint with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, George Russell has out-qualified his teammate. The British driver finished sixth in the 2024 World Drivers’ Championship with 245 points – 22 points more than the outgoing Lewis Hamilton. The 2024 season has been a positive one for Russell who took points from all but three races, despite some challenges with the W15.
Russell suffers tricky start to 2024
Despite claiming that the W15 had been designed around Hamilton’s wishes, Russell seemed to be on track for an optimistic start to his 2024 campaign. He qualified P3 in Bahrain, six places ahead of Hamilton.
However, despite a strong start which saw him take P2 after passing Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, engine cooling and energy recovery system (ERS) issues hindered his race. Unable to overcome these hindrances, Russell was forced to lift and coast, resulting in positions lost. He ultimately finished P5, two places behind his starting position but two ahead of his teammate Hamilton.
Unfortunately, Russell’s luck would not improve in Saudi Arabia. Despite some sparks of potential during the free practice sessions, Russell qualified P7. He ultimately finished the race in a frustrating P6, unable to get past Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso due to a lack of face. Though Russell claimed that the W15 had some “true potential” despite the tricky start to Mercedes’ 2024 campaign, both and his teammate continued to struggle with their car for the rest of the season, though Hamilton apparently more so than Russell.
Russell’s disastrous Australian GP
Russell was unable to improve his performance during the 2024 Australian GP. Despite making it into the third qualifying session (Q3), unlike his teammate Hamilton who was knocked out in Q2, Russell could not replicate the strong qualifying potential that he had shown in Bahrain. Instead, he qualified P7.
However, despite the less-than-ideal qualifying session, the British driver claimed to be more confident. While he acknowledged that Mercedes’ W15 was still outpaced by their rivals’ cars, Russell expressed tentative optimism for a decent race result.
Unfortunately, Russell’s race would end in disaster, after a collision with Alonso at Turn 6 on Lap 56 saw him out of the race. As he had completed more than 90% of the race distance at the time of his collision, Russell was classified P17. Alonso, who finished P6, was subsequently demoted to P8 after he was handed a drive-through penalty which was converted to a twenty-second penalty for “potentially dangerous driving.” Had Russell successful overtaken Alonso and held him off for the final laps of the race, he would have finished P6, giving Mercedes their only points of the weekend. Hamilton retired in Lap 15 due to an issue with his power unit (PU).
Russell enjoys mid-season peak in performance as W15 improves
Unfortunately, Russell continued to struggle with the W15, though upgrades brought by the team slowly improved his performance and competitiveness in races. However, in Monaco, Russell’s fortunes appeared to be changing. Despite qualifying and ultimately finishing the fairly uneventful Monaco GP race in P5, the pace of the W15 appeared to have substantially improved due to Russell’s use of a new front wing. Russell even claimed that Mercedes had believed that he had the potential for a podium finish before the early red flag had thrown off their plans.
That this new front wing had boosted the performance of the W15 was soon proven during the Canadian GP when both Russell and Hamilton enjoyed strong performances during the free practice sessions. Russell maintained this momentum going into qualifying. He claimed his first pole of the season, after setting a time of 1:12.000. Though Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set an identical time, Russell kept pole position by virtue of having set his lap earlier.
Unfortunately, Russell could not convert his start from pole position into a second career win. Despite taking an early lead, and holding on to it throughout heavy rain, Russell lost position to Verstappen on Lap 21 after a mistake saw him skipping over the chicane and off the dry racing line. Russell ultimately finished the race P3, earning his first podium finish of the season and Mercedes’ first in a non-sprint race.
Despite the costly mistakes, Russell’s performance in Canada was a highlight of his season. He showed good pace throughout the race and was able to reclaim and keep his P3 finish despite losing track position to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after a pitstop under the last safety car. Fortunately, however, Canada would not be the peak of Russell’s season.
Russell takes second career win in Austria
Russell did not return to the podium in Spain. Instead, he finished a frustrating P4, just about 4.5 seconds behind his teammate, Hamilton, after struggling with his pace on the hard compound tyres. The 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, however, was far more promising for the British driver.
Despite qualifying and finished the sprint race P4, Russell started Sunday’s race P3, alongside Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in P4 and ahead of Hamilton in P5. Despite a tussle with his teammate on Lap 3, Russel’s race was relatively uneventful until a collision between Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris in Lap 64, saw both drivers sustaining punctures. This allowed Russell to claim the lead of the race. He held on to this lead for the remaining seven laps of the race to claim his second career victory and first of the 2024 season.
Though Russell’s performance during the race in Austria was hardly worthy of the history books, his steadiness, and defensive driving allowed him to make the most out of the opportunity handed to him by Norris and Verstappen. He did not make unnecessary mistakes, nor did he succumb to any pressure. Ultimately, it would be unfair to deny that Russell’s victory was a deserved one, despite it coming as a result of his rivals’ mistakes. That he had apparently had some luck on his side as well certainly didn’t hurt.
Russell’s luck turns sour in Silverstone
If luck had played any role in Russell’s win in Austria, in Silverstone, it abandoned him, though not until the race had already gotten underway. Russell dominated Saturday’s session, topping FP3 and claiming pole ahead of teammate, Hamilton. However, despite a strong start to the race, Russell found himself unable to keep ahead of Hamilton as the rain came. He surrendered the lead of the race to Hamilton at Stowe corner on Lap 18, and then P2 to Norris a few corners later. Unfortunately, Russell would not be able to recover his race. He retired on Lap 33 due to an issue with his water pressure. He watched Hamilton win their home race from the sidelines.
Ruseell’s frustration did not end in Silverstone. Just two weeks later, in Hungary, he was knocked out of qualifying in Q1 after being caught out by the red flag caused when Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez spun into the barriers. Despite starting P17, Russell managed a good recovery driver, ultimately ending the race in P8, behind Pérez whose pace, Russell claimed, had been stronger. Despite missing out on the podium by several places, Russell appeared optimistic about Mercedes’ progress, though he admitted that there were still a few challenges with the W15 that needed to be overcome.
Russell suffers further heartbreak after 2024 Belgian GP
The Mercedes driver suffered further disappointment in Belgium after he was disqualified due to his car being 1.5 kg under the required weight of 798.0 kg.
Russell started the race P6, gaining a position after Verstappen, who qualified P1, was demoted to P11 for exceeding his quota of internal combustion engine (ICE) components. He pulled off a suburb start to the race, overtaking Norris in the first stint to claim P5 ahead of the McLaren driver. He then moved up into P4, after passing Pérez in the second stint.
However, Russell did not settle for P4. Instead, he requested that his team attempt a one-stop strategy which allowed him to claim the lead of the race ahead of his teammate and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. He subsequently defended against Hamilton in the final laps of the race to cross the line first.
Unfortunately, Russell’s elation soon turned to heartbreak after the driver’s car was found underweight, in violation of TR Article 4.1. He was disqualified from the race classification, handing victory to Hamilton. It was disappointing and unfortunate end to what would have been one of the best drives of Russell’s career. Russell had been consistent and defensive. He had been intelligent and decisive. Unfortunately, none of that had mattered in the end.
A return to the podium in Azerbaijan
Russell could not redeem himself upon his return from the summer break. He finished an unimpressive P7 in the 2024 Dutch GP, despite starting P4, after a puzzling lack of pace throughout the race. He again finished P7 in Italy, after a chaotic race which saw him sustain damage after collisions with both Piastri and Verstappen. While Russell was able to continue the race, a lack of pace due to his damaged front wing and a slow pitstop to change the wing cost him any chance of a podium.
Russell’s 2024 Azarbaijan GP, however, was far less disappointing for the British driver who returned to the podium after finishing P3. However, his positive finish, Russell appeared surprised to have made up the two positions from his P5 start. He noted that he had had a bad start to the race, and had struggled with his pace on the medium tyres. The discrepancy in performance between the different Pirelli tyre compounds also frustrated Russell, despite his improved performance on the hard tyres
Despite these challenges, Russell appeared cautiously optimistic about his performance in Singapore. He ultimately finished the 2024 Singapore GP P4.
Russell claims second win of season in 2024 Las Vegas GP
Although the W15’s performance has improved noticeably since the start of the season, Russell couldn’t return to the podium until the 2024 Las Vegas GP.
After strong performances in the fee practice sessions, Russell claimed pole position during the late-night Friday qualifying session after beating out Carlos Sains by just 0.1 seconds. He capitalised on his front-row starting position during Saturday’s race, making a clean getaway to keep hold of his lead into Turn 1 of the first lap. Russell would hold on to the lead of the race, for the majority of the race. He subsequently claimed his third career win, due to, a the driver himself claimed, a strong first stint and good tyre and pace management.
There is not doubt that Russell earned and deserved his Las Vegas victory. He successfully held off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the early laps of the race, keeping his lead as his rival destroyed his tyres. He then put in an intelligent, near-flawless performance to claim victory, all while avoiding unneccary or excessive damage to either his engine or tyres.
A contentious end to the 2024 season
Unfortunately, Russell could not replicate his Las Vegas success in Qatar. Despite finishing the sprint P3, he found himself settling for P4 in the race despite starting on pole after a contentious scrap with Red Bull’s Verstappen. However, Russell could not capitalise on his pole-position start. He surrendered the race lead to Verstappen before either could get to Turn 1 after a terrible start. An uncharacteristically long pitstop and a five-second time penalty added to his misfortune, costing the driver another podium finish.
He subsequently finished P5 in the Abu Dhabi GP after losing position to his outgoing teammate Hamilton in the final lap of the race. This saw Russell finish the 2024 season with a cumulative 245 points – the second-highest total of his F1 career. These 245 points also saw him finish P6 in the 2024 World Drivers’ Championship, ahead of his teammate Hamilton.
A semi-satisfying 2024 season for George Russell
The 2024 season marked George Russell’s second-best in his F1 career, showcasing his skill, confidence, and intelligence behind the wheel. However, his season hasn’t been flawless. While some of the blame lies with the W15 and Pirelli tyres, Russell has admitted to making mistakes, which have proven costly. As a result, he ranks P5 in Pit Debrief’s 2024 driver rankings.
