Russell hails Chinese Grand Prix as "one of my best weekends in F1"

The Brit was able to take a fantastic second place in qualifying after the sprint race on Saturday, showing that he has the pace to challenge right at the front with Mercedes in 2025. However, in the Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris just had a bit more speed around the Shanghai International Circut to take first and second place, respectively.

But it is now back-to-back P3's for Russell to start the 2025 F1 season, finding some great consistency and performances to put the W16 up on the podium in back-to-back Grands Prix.

Russell says podium is a "great result"

Speaking in the post-race interviews in Parc Ferme, Russell said, "Yeah, it's a great result finishing P3, especially in front of all these fans here. There has been amazing support for everybody this year, so thank you so much for that. But it was a really great race, really pleased with the P3. We knew McLaren were a smidge quicker than us, a few crucial points, but well done to those two."

However, even though the Brit was behind the two papaya-coloured cars, he still believes he had a weekend to remember: "I felt it from quite early on that a one-stop could be possible, and it turned out to be slightly easier than we probably all anticipated. But nevertheless, the car's been great this weekend. It's probably one of my best weekends in Formula 1, in terms of the overall performance, so really pleased with that, and I'm pleased again to be on the podium. 

"Charles [Leclerc] was putting me under quite a lot of pressure of a few laps after the pit stop. And, obviously, it was a bit dicey with Lando for a few laps. But from there on in, it was quite a straightforward race," concluded Russell.