George Russell delivers 'unique' verdict after major Mercedes changes

George Russell has minimised the importance of his podium finish at the Hungaroring, describing the weekend near Budapest as "pretty unique".

The Mercedes driver finished third in the Hungarian Grand Prix, joining the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the final rostrum before the F1-mandated summer shutdown.

It was a pivotal weekend for the Brackley-based squad after returning to an old rear suspension on the back of the W16 in the hope of allaying a worrying drop in form during the European leg of the season.

Originally introduced for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, the upgrade saw Russell and rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli take a backwards step. 

Aside from an outlier of a weekend in Canada, when the former won and the latter took his maiden podium, the pair has failed to replicate the results they produced in the early part of the campaign.

For Russell, that meant he was unable to build on the four podiums he attained in the opening six rounds, and for Antonelli, a scoreless run after points after points in five of the first six.

The young Italian still struggled in Hungary, despite the changes, but was able to achieve his first point in Europe, having started P15.

His team-mate, however, was quick to dampen expectations due to what he labelled an "unusual" classification, with two Aston Martins and Gabriel Bortoleto finishing between fifth and seventh.

"We reverted on some of the items we brought," the 27-year-old told media, including RacingNews365. "Early in the season we brought a new rear suspension that clearly wasn’t performing as we’d have hoped.

"But it was also a pretty unique weekend [in Hungary]. You see the results by McLaren, and it was quite an unusual finishing order from P3 down.

"Obviously, Max was quite out of position. The Astons had a really strong race weekend as well. So, I don’t think we should get carried away with the result."

Nonetheless, Russell did acknowledge that it was almost a high-point of the season, adding: "But, clearly, in terms of pace, it was our best race of the season bar Canada."