George Russell ecstatic after maiden F1 podium finish at Belgian Grand Prix 2021

George Russell claimed his maiden F1 podium at a record-breaking Belgium Grand Prix. The Belgian GP 2021 is the shortest F1 race in history, as only two laps were completed before a result was declared. Half points were declared for all the drivers as F1 could not complete a minimum of 75% of the race to award full points. As a result, Russell was awarded nine points instead of the usual 18 for second place.

George Russell claims maiden podium at Belgian Grand Prix 2021

George Russell claimed his maiden podium at the Belgian Grand Prix 2021 in the most unexpected of fashions as the drivers only 'raced' for two laps. The race only featured two laps behind the safety car before it was stopped for the final time as drivers complained of visibility issues due to the heavy rain. Even though it is the main race on Sunday that usually counts, the Williams driver was rewarded for his outstanding qualifying lap on Sunday. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen denied the young brit pole position on his final flying lap as he clocked in a lap that was 0.3 seconds quicker.

George Russell reflects on emotional Belgium Grand Prix podium

George Russell is most known for his outstanding qualifying laps on the Saturday of Grand Prix weekends, thereby also getting the tag of 'Mr Saturday.' However, he has often failed to convert his excellent qualifying on Saturday to strong points finish on a Sunday due to the lack of pace in the Williams. However, having finally secured strong points finish in the race, Russell reflected on how grateful he was to see his qualifying performance rewarded.

While speaking at the post-race press conference, Russell said, "Yeah, absolutely. We don’t often get rewarded for great qualifying, but we absolutely did today. But first I want to say sorry to all the fans. It was amazing, their support, to stay out here throughout, and we were all in the same boat. It was a shame we couldn’t get this race underway, but just from our side and the team’s side, it is such an amazing result.

Russell added that the entire team deserved plaudits for the podium finish. "A little celebration tonight I'm sure. My whole team deserves it as there has been so much hard work going into it over the last few years, and there has not really been anything to show for it or prove for it. And we absolutely nailed it yesterday, and here we are standing on the podium. I can tell you I didn't expect that this year. That's for sure."