“Good lad”: George Russell earns Lewis Hamilton’s appreciation as Mercedes pair score important points in Hungary

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was full of praise for his teammate George Russell after being told the latter was catching up to Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in the final phase of the Hungarian GP on Sunday. It was a difficult afternoon for both Russell and Perez as they started P16 and P17, respectively, for the main race.

As both drivers were starting on hard tires, they failed to make an impression in the first stint in the opening phase but came on strong after their pit stops. Hamilton was heard on his team radio asking about Russell's progress through the field:

“How is George doing?,”

When he was informed that the 26-year-old was catching up to Perez's car, Hamilton replied:

“Good lad.”

As per the official F1 website, while analyzing his P8 finish in the Hungarian GP, Russell said the following:

"We knew after yesterday’s issues in qualifying that we were likely aiming for ‘best of the rest’ today. We struggled a little more in these very hot conditions, so we weren’t quite able to achieve that."

"The Red Bull of Sergio Perez was quicker than we expected but we gave it a good go to get ahead of him. Getting P8 and the fastest lap was still a solid recovery," he added.

---

Lewis Hamilton analyzes his P3 finish at the Hungarian GP

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton stated after the Hungarian GP on Sunday that it was an unlikely podium for him to secure, as he thought the W15 was slower than the Red Bulls and McLarens.

In his post-race press conference, the seven-time world champion revealed that the W15 wasn't able to perform at the team's expected levels in the hot conditions in Budapest. Hamilton said:

"Unfortunately, we're still not, in hot conditions particularly… So you saw in Austria and here, we're not able to keep up with these guys. But in stint one, I was really surprised to see that I was able to hold on to Max. And I wasn't even having to push too hard to stay within a second, or around a second behind him."

"So I thought at that point that maybe I was in for a chance of at least fighting for that place. But we obviously got the undercut and track position is clearly key on this track. And I think that really ultimately made the difference." he added.

It was Lewis Hamilton's 200th podium in the sport and his third in the last four races, which included a P1 finish at the British GP. With his podium, the Mercedes driver has passed George Russell and Sergio Perez in the driver's championship as he sits in P6 with 125 points, a point ahead of the Mexican and nine ahead of his teammate.