George Russell reveals health battle after 'fortunate' Baku recovery

George Russell was "fortunate" to overcome illness to seal second place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, following an excellent opening stint. 

Starting from fifth at the Baku City Circuit, Russell overtook Liam Lawson before extending his opening stint. 

It allowed the Briton to overcut Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz, emerging from the pit lane in second. 

The podium finish concluded a personally challenging weekend for Russell, who was unwell across the grand prix – he missed media day as a result on Thursday. 

"Firstly, congrats to Carlos and Williams," said Russell. "Amazing result for them, I think for us, really happy to be back on the podium. 

"It's been a bit of a rough weekend for me personally, but the car was great. Kimi in P4 as well, so happy with that."

Race day marked the best Russell had felt all weekend in the Azerbaijan capital, who sounded incredibly unwell over the radio in earlier sessions. 

His podium and Antonelli's fourth-place finish marks a major boost for Mercedes in the constructors' championship, who have moved into second ahead of Ferrari.

"I was pretty glad when I saw the chequered flag, to be honest," added Russell. "I was fortunate, I felt much better today than I felt on Friday and Saturday. 

"So yeah, looking forward to a bit of rest now. But as I said, just happy with the result and for us as a team trying to beat Ferrari in the constructors'. It was a good step towards that, absolutely."