George Russell took a Formula 1 win in the blink of an eye. Now he says it’s “crunch time” for the title fight. In one of the closest finishes in years, Russell held off Max Verstappen by just .196 of a second to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday, ending a three-month wait for a victory.
Russell cut Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli’s standings lead from 81 points to 66 as the Italian recovered from 16th on the grid to finish fifth.
“My teammate’s had an incredible season. He’s been pretty flawless throughout, but now we’re getting to crunch time,” Russell said.
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“If I continue delivering performances like I’ve done this weekend , no matter what happens towards the end of the season, I’ll be happy.”
Russell started on pole, built a big lead and it seemed like he’d cruise to victory from there, given his vast margin over the field in qualifying the day before.
