Martin Brundle says luck gave George Russell an opportunity to finish on the podium in the Australian Grand Prix, but it was the Briton's "impressive" level of performance that sealed his P3 result.
Russell spent the first twenty laps among the top five but behind teammate Lewis Hamilton. But the seven-time world champion lost out when he stopped just before the race's first Safety Car period while Russell was handed a free tyre change.
The pair raced together in the second half of the race, but Hamilton was unable to overhaul Mercedes' sister car, while Max Verstappen's retirement provided a final bout of good fortune that moved Russell into third position where he would finish.
But Brundle insists Russell's maiden podium with Mercedes in F1 was no fluke.
©Mercedes
"George Russell got lucky with the Safety Car, but you need to be competitive before and after that to benefit and he certainly was," Brundle wrote in his post-race column for Sky Sports F1.
"He doesn’t appear to be struggling to keep with Lewis in qualifying or race trim and that’s impressive against the great man."
Russell's consistent presence among the top-five in the first three races of the season has positioned him second in the Drivers' standings, 34 points behind leader Charles Leclerc, a result that reflects first and foremost the 24-year-old's consistency and flawless driving says Brundle.
"George is second in the Drivers’ Championship due to classy, fault-free driving and reliability," wrote the former F1 driver.
"Now he needs the car performance to take a decent step forward in a hurry."
©Mercedes
Mercedes is sparing no effort to solve the issues impacting the performance of its W13 Silver Arrow. But so far, the Brackley squad has coped well in "damage limitation" mode, according to Brundle.
"Lewis was disappointed in fourth, struggling with an overheating engine, but the team must have been pleased they used their tyres better than Red Bull in the first half of the race," said the Sky F1 commentator.
"The whole Mercedes team are definitely applying ‘damage limitation’ extremely well."
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