Crucially, the timing of his pit cease noticed him emerge forward of Verstappen, who had beforehand misplaced the lead of the race to eventual winner Oscar Piastri.
From there, it was merely a matter of retaining his rivals behind reasonably than making an attempt to pursue the McLarens – at one level, the battle for the ultimate podium spot coated each Mercedes, Verstappen and the notably quick Williams of Alex Albon.
READ MORE: Piastri full of praise for McLaren after ‘unbelievable’ and ‘impressive’ victory in Miami
However days after Russell identified Mercedes as the season’s third-fastest team, he took the chequered flag a whopping 37 seconds behind the lead McLaren, which is the most important hole between P1 and P3 since Lando Norris dominated the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
“To be trustworthy I am actually pleased to return away with P3 as a result of I’ve been struggling this weekend personally, at all times on the again foot,” Russell stated after the race. “Finally when it mattered, I obtained a very good outcome at the moment. Properly finished to McLaren – they’re simply down the highway.”
