Russell wins the Grand Prix in style Las Vegas. Lewis Hamilton then completed the work for Mercedes, thus taking home a sensational one-two. A leap in performance that the drivers themselves had difficulty explaining, but which is probably to be found in the conditions in which the race took place. And so, Russell in Las Vegas made up for what had been taken away from him in Belgium.
Russell Doesn't Do Anything Wrong: Las Vegas Is All His
From Friday to the last lap of the Grand Prix: George Russell was perfect. When the car allows him, the young English driver always manages to be ready, unlike his teammate who during the Q3 of qualifying he made several mistakes on his lap. Despite everything, Hamilton then completed a great comeback to second place. Russell, on the other hand, always kept the lead of the race safe from the beginning. Excellent start, where he managed to secure himself from his pursuers. After a few laps Leclerc appeared behind him, but the Englishman managed to resist him. From then on Russell managed to build a large advantage over his pursuers. In fact, Russell and Hamilton were the only ones not to suffer the stint on the medium tyres, thus making the difference.
Although the team and Russell were surprised by the competitiveness shown during the weekend in Nevada, it is still a well-constructed victory. The Mercedes engine is able to provide excellent performance, unfortunately often overshadowed by a car that is difficult to set up. The w15, as a result, has almost never had a great feeling with the tyres supplied by Pirelli this year. In Las Vegas, however, the good mechanics of the Mercedes proved decisive, as it allowed the two English drivers to be competitive on the straight despite the set-up presenting itself with more aerodynamic load. The latter allowed for lower tyre consumption and, therefore, better management of the stints compared to the other, less loaded cars, as explained by Federico Albano on his account Instagram.

Russell felt lucky: “usually something always happens”
To the skill of the team and the perfect driving of George Russell, we must also add the weather conditions in which the race was held. In fact, the cold that the drivers experienced during the night in Las Vegas could have been decisive for Mercedes in managing the tyres. Many factors, therefore, that gave George Russell a memorable success, as he himself declared before the podium to the microphones of Jenson Button and the actor Terry Crews. “I wanted to fly in a couple of hours, but I'm definitely not going to get on that flight. I'll enjoy the evening with the team. It was a dream weekend, I don't know why we were so fast. But at the moment I'm on the crest of a wave“. A race that Russell apparently felt very strongly about, given the prestigious context in which it took place. “It's really a crazy place, when you drive and see all this in the background you can't even describe it. Winning here, dominating the whole weekend and doing double with Lewis too: we couldn't have chosen a better place".
Russell thus reaches the third victory in his career, the second this year after the dramatic Austrian Grand Prix and the first obtained in 2022 at Interlagos. The English driver also made up for what happened months ago in Belgium, when after winning a sensational race he was disqualified by the judges for irregularities found on his car. This time, however, no unforeseen event could hinder the number 63, as he himself did not fail to point out. “I expected something to happen, because in the two races where I took pole, chaos always happened. Rain or dry: something always happened. Even in the last race in Brazil there was a red flag. Here I was confident and had a good advantage, but I expected something to happen. Maybe luck decided to go my way and I'm happy.“. A Russell euphoric for the victory who, as we have read, let himself be carried away by the enthusiasm declaring himself lucky. In reality, more than anything, in the city of sin George Russell knew how to play his cards well. More than luck.