Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff described George Russell as "cold-blooded" after the Briton's commanding win at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Russell successfully converted pole position into the race win at the Red Bull Ring. It marked his first grand prix win since the season-opener in Australia.
After winning in Australia and claiming the victory at the Chinese sprint race, Russell had watched on as his teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli took the lead of the championship after back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix. The 19-year-old continued his winning streak with victories in Miami, Canada and Monaco.
"Since Q3 yesterday, until now, perfect execution [from Russell]. He was quick, managed the tyres well, cold-blooded, really happy for him," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 after the race.
Wolff shed some light on the conversations behind the scenes to reassure the 28-year-old.
"He knows he can drive fast and sometimes you just have to put one and one together. Just drive! It's never good when racing drivers think too much! We said the best race is the quickest race.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
"Don't manage, make sure you don't kill the rears, but we are doing this by pushing the front [tyres] and that's what he did, not thinking too much about strategy or the gap behind. Just go, go, extract the maximum from the car, and that's what he did."
Antonelli finished the race in third after starting from fourth on the grid.
"I am very proud of Kimi," Wolff added. "He was very eager in the beginning to get the victory done in the first couple of laps, and that cost him, but I liked the enthusiasm.
"He just goes for it. We want a driver to be full on the attack all the time. You can't accelerate a donkey, but you can calm down a racehorse."
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Originally published by motorsport.com —
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