Russell wants to "apply a little bit more pressure" on Red Bull dominance

F1 News

Russell on Red Bull dominance at Dutch Grand Prix
26 August at 16:19
1
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

George Russell wants to "apply a little bit more pressure" to Red Bull during their current period of dominance. Max Verstappen will start on pole position as Russell gets his best starting spot since the Australian Grand Prix back in early April. 

Russell on the Dutch Grand Prix

Despite being so close, Russell doesn't believe he'll be able to fight Verstappen in the Dutch Grand Prix. Given the strong race pace Verstappen showed on Friday, that's no surprise. But Russell would like to apply a bit more pressure on the Red Bull driver who is attempt to equal the record of consecutive wins. 

"Red Bull are done an amazing job at the moment, but I think we just need to turn up a little bit more, apply a little bit more pressure. I think they've got a really nice buffer at the moment, and when you're in that rhythm, you're in that groove, you can afford to make a small mistake and still be in a really great spot. There's a lot less pressure than when you know if you make a small mistake, it's going to cost you a couple of positions. So we're going to keep on working," Russell said.

In regards to Sunday's race, Russell expects the tyre degradation to give a few opportunities with strategy. "I don't think we'll have the pace to fight with Max [Verstappen]. He's a bit of a league of his own at the moment but I'm confident Lando [Norris] and I can have a good fight. Obviously great to see Alex [Albon] there in P4. He'll probably be in the mix at the beginning of the race, and then we'll have to see the progress of Checo. He's probably going to be the next threat from behind," Russell concluded.