MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How Russell held onto a brilliant P2 in Bahrain – despite car failures, tyre woes and a charging Norris on his tail


George Russell’s second place in the Bahrain Grand Prix was a superb demonstration of composure as he fought off the attacks of Lando Norris in the late stages, while dealing with an array of control system glitches in his Mercedes.
Even without the failed transponder, loss of dashboard functions, the failure of the DRS (drag reduction system) to automatically arm itself and the brake-by-wire function disappearing, Russell would already have been facing a difficult challenge in keeping the medium-tyred Norris behind him on a set of soft tyres.

Unlock exclusive F1 content and more with F1 Unlocked. Totally free.
Membership gets you closer with:
Curated insider content
Live like an F1 insider with exclusive access and VIP experiences
Member benefits, rewards and offers
Next Up
Related Articles
F3Camara earns fifth pole by 0.008s over Boya in Budapest
OFFICIAL RACE PROGRAMME - 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix
All the shots as the F1 drivers arrive in Hungary
Sainz's results 'incredibly frustrating and disappointing'
Practice DebriefAre McLaren unstoppable at the Hungaroring?
Norris leads Piastri and Leclerc during FP1 in Hungary