Peter Windsor says 11-podium driver was ‘unbelievably spectacular’ during Saudi GP weekend

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Peter Windsor was left seriously impressed by Mercedes driver George Russell leading up to the race in Saudi Arabia last weekend.

The 11-time podium finisher is currently the lead Mercedes in the Drivers’ Championship after decent results in Bahrain and Jeddah.

Speaking on the Short Corners Podcast, Windsor reserved special praise for the 26-year-old’s performance in the F1 W15.

Windsor very impressed with Russell in Saudi Arabia

After narrowly holding onto second-place in the Constructors’ Championship last year, Mercedes appear to have been leapfrogged by Ferrari over the winter.

Brake problems for Charles Leclerc prevented Frederic Vasseur’s team from recording a three-four finish in Bahrain.

And while Oliver Bearman impressed on debut in Jeddah, narrowly missing out on Q3 last Friday prevented him from challenging at the very front.

However, he did finish ahead of Lewis Hamilton who has finished behind his teammate in both races this year.

George Russell didn’t have the best 2023 but looks much stronger this year and Windsor has praised his performance in Saudi Arabia.

He looked rapid in practice and while he may be slightly disappointed to start behind both McLaren’s he extracted the maximum performance from the car.

Russell already stepping up for Mercedes ahead of Hamilton’s exit

Speaking ahead of the race in Jeddah, Windsor said: “Fernando Alonso, right out there in the Aston Martin, looking good.

“George Russell, unbelievably spectacular in the Mercedes. Right on the edge, eye-wateringly so as indeed he was in Bahrain.”

Toto Wolff’s team still have ‘fundamental problems’ to fix with their car which may explain why they’re competing with McLaren and Aston Martin right now rather than Ferrari.

Their car was slower than Alpine and Williams in one area of the track in Saudi Arabia which was limiting their performance.

Windsor has at least praised the performance of Russell in Saudi Arabia although he claimed that the car was ‘so unstable’ in Jeddah.

He will hope those issues are resolved by the time they arrive in Australia for the third race of the season.

If it isn’t, then their rivals will be eyeing some decent points hauls while they take advantage of another Mercedes car that doesn’t look completely at ease with the current set of regulations.