George Russell has revealed why his Saturday night in Las Vegas ended in triumph, but not in splashes.
The Mercedes driver dominated the Grand Prix under the neon lights, taking his second victory of the season with panache. And yet, one thing was missing: a victory dive into the iconic fountains of the Bellagio.
Despite his heroic performance, Russell decided against the splashy celebration, citing health concerns and the fear of catching a Saturday night fever.
“No, I really wanted to do it!” Russell confessed, half-lamenting and half-shivering. "But I was so cold after the race I thought I would get super ill.
“This time last year I actually caught pneumonia, and I was ill all the way into mid-February after Vegas and Abu Dhabi.
“So I was like ‘I really want to do it’ but then I was thinking back to the struggles I had this time 12 months ago because it’s such a toll on the body.”
And then there was the champagne. Lots and lots of champagne. He joked about his damp condition post-race: “It’s from all the champagne, that’s why I’m soaking wet!”
On Russell’s cool-down lap, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff suggested they celebrate after flying back to Los Angeles later that night.
“Toto, I’m staying in Vegas!” responded Russell.
“I think that maybe I need to stay in Vegas too,” Wolff said.
©Mercedes
Despite his enthusiasm, Russell sheepishly admitted that he might need a little guidance on where to take his celebrations.
“I don’t party that often and I don’t know where I need to go but I’ll be going somewhere!”
Russell’s weekend was a masterclass. From pole, he was in command of proceedings from the outset, with Ferrari’s challenge lasting only a handful laps until the Italian outfit’s drivers fell victim to tyre graining.
“I think we won the race in stint one. To be honest, stint one was exceptional,” commented Russell.
“And I knew from there on in the only way we would probably lose the victory is if I grained the tyres and opened them up. So it was just a case of managing my pace, managing in the right corners and bringing it home.”
Russell praised Mercedes’ performance on the smooth Las Vegas circuit, where the car finally came alive after months of struggles.
“On tracks like this where it’s relatively smooth, we can get the car quite low, quite stiff, with little or no bumps around the track, we fly,” he said.
With champagne-soaked overalls, a winner’s grin, and a bewildered plan to "go somewhere," George Russell proved that sometimes, what happens in Vegas is best left to the imagination –fountains or no fountains.
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