George Russell declares title 'crunch time' after landmark F1 achievement

George Russell has declared it is F1 title "crunch time" following his victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix - as he recorded a grand chelem for the first time.

After a tricky run of results, Russell converted his pole position into a win from pole, having set the fastest lap as he fended off Max Verstappen by just 0.196s on the line, having led every lap. 

His 1:44.916 was enough to secure the fastest lap from Verstappen by just 0.077s to become just the 29th driver to record a grand chelem - and the first for a British Mercedes driver since Lewis Hamilton at the 2019 Abu Dhabi GP. 

The victory, just his third of the season after Australia and Austria, has seen the Briton cut Kimi Antonelli's points lead to 66 following the Italian's fifth-place finish, as Russell put in his strongest performance since Austria. 

"It is amazing to be back on the top step of the podium, so I want to say a big thank you to the team because they've continued to believe in me through tough moments and helped me to come through it," Russell said.

"I'm really proud ot have had this weekend, and the first half of the race was pretty plain-sailing; I got a gap, and when I saw Max behind on the safety car restart, I thought: 'It is not going to be easy', and he drove incredibly at the end of the race. 

"Then when the yellow flag came out, I lifted off the power, and when I went back, I had no turbo, so then I had no power. Max almost got me at the line, so that would have been a real shame. But all in all, incredible weekend.

"It's just having more experience with this sort of new driving style I've adopted. At every race since the break, I feel like I've gone from strength to strength, and I feel like more myself again."

When then asked what his plan was having reduced Antonelli's points lead, Russell declared he had to "win every race."

"Win every race, that's the game plan," he said.

"My team-mate has had an incredible season. He's been pretty flawless throughout, but now we're getting to crunch time. But I'm just going to focus on myself.

"If I continue delivering performance like I've done this weekend, no matter what happens towards the end of the season, I'll be happy because it's been a really tough period for me, and now I feel like I've come through the other side."