Russell: I wasn't sure the tires would last until the finish.

      George Russell made it onto the podium in Las Vegas, finishing third. The Mercedes driver said he feared the set of tyres wouldn't hold up until the finish.

      His teammate Kimi Antonelli finished fourth, but after a 5‑second penalty added for a false start he dropped to fifth in the classification.

      George Russell (3rd): “When Max came out of the pits right in front of me, I thought I had a chance. He had cold tyres, and I attacked with everything I had.

      I damaged the tyres, and from that moment I kept saying over the radio that I wasn't sure this set would last until the finish.

      It was really tough for me. Not my best race, so a podium was probably the best I could do today.”

      Kimi Antonelli (5th): “I had a very strong pace today, especially in the last ten laps. I tried to manage the situation after seeing in the middle of the race that the tyres started to grain. That worried me a bit, especially after the team told me they were switching to ‘Plan B’, which involved running to the finish on this set of tyres.

      So I tried to manage the tyre condition, but when Oscar Piastri caught up to me in the DRS zone I started attacking, the tyres cleaned up, and thanks to that my pace began to pick up.

      I'm very pleased we made it to the finish without a pit stop and scored important points for the team.”