Watch: George Russell shouts "Let me f**king drive" to Toto Wolff during the F1 Austrian GP

F1 Grand Prix of Austria
George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes attends the press conference (Image - Getty)

Mercedes driver George Russell voiced his frustration when team principal Toto Wolff came onto the radio informing the driver that he could win the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. The young British driver, finding himself in the right place at the right time, was able to capitalize on the collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris and take the second win of his career.

The 26-year-old was cruising in P3 throughout the main race on Sunday as he was unchallenged for the final position by his rivals behind him. However, Russell was unable to make the headway at the front to Verstappen and Norris as well.

But everything changed on Lap 59, when both the frontrunners collided with each other and suffered a puncture. George Russell was informed about the incident by his race engineer, Marcus Dudley, and team principal Toto Wolff could not control his excitement and shouted at Russell via the team radio:

"George you can win this! You can win this George!"

Aware of the gravity of the tense situation, George Russell replied:

"Let me f**king drive!"

In the post-race press conference, the Mercedes driver revealed that he almost crashed when Wolff shouted at him during the race:

"I had Toto screaming in my ear, ‘you can win this’. And I almost crashed when he screamed into my ears. It was that loud. But I think it just goes to show the passion that we all share. And it's been a tough couple of years for us. It feels great to be back on the top step."

George Russell chimes in on Red Bull Ring bringing the best out of him

Mercedes driver George Russell said that the Red Bull Ring always brought the best out of him and claimed he was the third-fastest car behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris on merit.

He told the media:

"Yeah, it's a track I enjoy. The last couple of years have been very difficult for us as a team. And we didn't have high expectations going into this weekend. But we ended up qualifying P3 yesterday. And we've been in that mix. And as I said, we were fighting for the podium."
"I think realistically, we still probably have the third quickest car behind Red Bull and McLaren. But in the last three races, Lewis and I have been in that P3 spot. So, you know, we're really getting the most out of it. And sometimes, racing, it goes your way," Russell added.

With his win in Austria, George Russell has also closed in on the gap to Oscar Piastri ahead of him in the battle for P6 in the Driver's Championship. The British driver is now only a point behind the Australian on 111 points after 11 races and three Sprints in the 2024 season.

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Edited by Shirsh
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