George Russell explains dramatic late-race pace concern

George Russell has revealed the cause of his dramatic pace evaporation in the final laps of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Russell was running in third place behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris as he aimed to secure his first podium result since his victory in Singapore.

The Briton's healthy advantage over the trio of Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc was soon being eaten into as the pack closed in on Russell.

He crossed the line just a handful of seconds ahead of Antonelli, who dropped back to fifth place with a time penalty.

Having clung on to a podium spot, Russell highlighted he had no life left in his tyres after pushing too hard at the start of his stint in a bid to overtake Max Verstappen for the lead.

“The pace was not bad in the first and obviously made a good start, probably only one-tenth or so slower than Max in that first stint,” Russell told media including RacingNews365.

“After the pit stop, I saw that opportunity to attack and just push really hard for two laps, and I destroyed my tyres.

“I knew with about 20 laps to go, it was going to be very challenging to get to the end, so it wasn't very enjoyable because I just couldn't get around left-hand corners.”

Despite the late-race scare, Russell insisted he has no regrets over his approach during the grand prix.

“You can always have that debate,” he said. “Honestly, if I was sat in Lando's position now, it doesn't change anything for me.

“I want to fight for victories. I saw that as half an opportunity. I thought Max was going to struggle a bit more on his out lap, and I had to go for it.

“If I nursed my tyres in those laps, I'd be sitting here still in P3 maybe wondering if only I could have attacked when I had the opportunity. So no regrets, it just wasn't an enjoyable race.”