Today's post-race press conference with George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

Track Interviews - Conducted by David Coulthard.

Carlos Sainz, welcome. Another podium in your career and what was a fairly quiet weekend in terms of overall performance but it all came alive at the end there. Did you see the action ahead or were you just very much focused on bringing your car home?
Carlos Sainz: Yeah, quite an eventful race up front. For us it was all about trying to keep up with George. we knew the Mercedes today might have a bit of an advantage on race pace but we tried everything to keep up with him and Oscar, at the end, was coming really, really quick and in the end P3 which is I think a good result. I think we can be quite happy quite proud of that because this weekend hasn't been easy for us and to come away with 15 points and a P3 is a good result.

We're in the middle of this triple header. We've come off the back of your home Grand Prix. We have Silverstone in a week's time. Can we expect a step forward in performance there? Because it didn't really look that without the incident between Lando and Max that you would have been here on the podium today.
CS: Yeah, happy days for Formula 1 that there's a bit of action up front and we're getting to see some nice battles. Unfortunately for us, we are still coming off the back of a tough couple of races where we are not quite there to fight for the win yet, but we're trying to do everything we can as a team to be back on form in Silverstone and in the upcoming races, to make sure next time we are up there to capitalise. And if not, podiums like these are always good news, and we will keep pushing flat out to stay in the fight.

Okay, well, we look forward to seeing that big push. Well done on the podium.
CS: Thank you.

As we move on to our second place finisher, who must be thinking, what could have been? It all became undone even before you started the race with that qualifying penalty for track limits?
Oscar Piastri: Yeah, there's a lot of what-ifs and maybes. Yeah, obviously starting from yesterday, but yeah. I know it's only my fourth podium in F1, but, yeah, so close to a win, it hurts a little bit, but really good points, obviously. I think the second half of the race we were coming on pretty strong, and happy with another podium. Just when it's that close, you can't help but hurt a little bit.

Well, you can carry that momentum, hopefully, onto your [McLaren's] home Grand Prix in a week's time at Silverstone.
OP: Yeah, not my home Grand Prix, but McLaren's home Grand Prix. Yeah, obviously it was a place of good memories from last year, and hopefully we can be up the front again. Obviously, I haven't seen what happened with Lando and Max, but clearly it was pretty even up the front, and yeah, I think we're well and truly in the mix. Silverstone's a track I always enjoy. Team's home race, so excited for what's to come.

Okay, well, good points today. Congratulations.
OP: Thank you very much.

And ladies and gentlemen, our Grand Prix winner, celebrating his second Grand Prix win, George Russell.
George Russell: Yeah, incredible. It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race, just to hold on to that P3, and I saw on the TV that Max and Lando were going pretty hard. I knew Lando would want to try and get that race win, but, you know, the team have done an amazing job to get us in this fight. You've got to be there at the end to pick up the pieces, and that's where we were.

Amazing. So you were watching the big screens, minding your own business and your own Grand Prix, while watching that battle out front, willing to happen what actually happened.
GR: Yeah, they were going for it. And I couldn't believe actually how close we were to Lando and Max. I think we were only about 12, 13 seconds behind. I knew it was a possibility. You're always dreaming, but as I said, just so proud to be back on the top step. The team have worked so hard. We've made so many strides since the start of the season. So, yeah, the last three races have been incredible, so more to come.

Now, look, you've done everything to make sure you were in that position. The other two looked like they had the overall pace today had they not had the contact. But all you can do is drive your car and put yourself in the position that you have to then capitalise. So you must be really proud with this, your second Grand Prix victory.
GR: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's no secret Red Bull with Max and McLaren with Lando are still a little bit out in front, but we're always putting ourselves in that third place position the last couple of races. And obviously, if anything happens up front, we're there to pick it up. But, you know, just really proud of everybody. And, you know, what an exciting time for us.

And, George, we're one week away from the British Grand Prix. That would be nice to carry this momentum towards another podium there.
GR: Yeah, absolutely. I think we're riding a bit of a wave at the moment. These last three races have been incredible. I think realistically we probably could have won the race in Canada, so this probably makes up for one too many mistakes on my side there, and just really proud to be back on the top step.

Press Conference

George, very well done to you. What a moment. It was perhaps unexpected, but what does this win mean to you?
GR: Yeah, it feels really great to be honest. These last three races as a team, we've really turned it up. I feel that Montreal was probably a victory that we missed out on and we ended up finishing P3. Today was a deserving P3 and we got the victory. So it's funny how this sport turns around and just credit to all the team for all the hard work they've done. Such huge progress since the start of the year.

This is also a racetrack that brings out the best in you. You're the first driver to win here in GP3, Formula 2 and now Formula 1.
GR: Yeah, there we go. Yeah, it's a track I enjoy. The last couple of years have been very difficult for us as a team. And we didn't have high expectations going into this weekend. But we ended up qualifying P3 yesterday. And we've been in that mix. And as I said, we were fighting for the podium. I think realistically, we still probably have the third quickest car behind Red Bull and McLaren. But the last three races, Lewis and I have been in that P3 spot. So, you know, we're really getting the most out of it. And sometimes, racing, it goes your way.

Well, can we delve into the race now and perhaps start before the lights had even gone out? Going to the grid, you were expressing some concerns over the radio. How was the car, first of all?
GR: It was very windy out there, and I think the car was feeling a little bit strange. On my laps to grid, we checked everything, and everything was fine. But the pace felt strong. I had Lewis attack me early in the race, but then once I got back past him, I got a bit of a gap to Carlos. I knew Oscar was going to be quick, and he sort of came a little bit out of nowhere towards the end of the race on those Hard tyres. For me it was pretty difficult. And then suddenly I had Toto screaming in my ear, 'you can win this'. And I almost crashed when he screamed into my ears. It was that loud. But I think it just goes to show the passion that we all share. And it's obviously been a tough couple of years for us. It feels great to be back on the top step.

You were slightly offset strategically. You ran the medium tyre in the middle of the race. How much did that help you in the closing battle with Oscar to be on the hard tyre?
GR: I don't think it helped at all, to be honest. I think it's difficult. I think we split the strategies with Lewis just to try something. You never know how the race is going to pan out. And VSC, Safety Cars have a big factor. That VSC at the end was quite handy for me. It allowed me to cool my tyres down and then my pace against Oscar. The last five laps was the same when he had the medium. So, you know, the car's been feeling really good. We know we've got a little bit of work still to do if we want to consistently be in that fight for the podium. But looking at the steps we've made versus Ferrari, versus Aston Martin, it's been pretty huge since Bahrain.

And in terms of execution, was this the best weekend that you and the team have had so far this year?
GR: Yeah, without doubt. I think we really executed everything really well. I think every session we maximised, qualified as high as we think was truly possible. Race starts have been good. P4 in the race yesterday was the maximum. P3 realistically was the maximum and the deserving result today. You know, the team did a great job. So it's nice when you get a reward for all that hard work.

And what a result to take into your home race at Silverstone next weekend. Do you dare to dream about a repeat on home soil?
GR: You always dare to dream for sure. Anything can happen. I think Red Bull were really quick this weekend in the high-speed corners. So they're going to look pretty strong next week in Silverstone. But we've got a few days between now and then. I'll be on the simulator on Tuesday back at the factory. So I'm really excited for that one.

Alright, George, very well done to you. Thank you very much. Oscar, let's come to you now. P7 to P2 is a tremendous result for you. How pleased are you with the drive you put in today?
OP: Yeah, I think mostly happy. I think the first stint didn't make quite as much progress as I would have liked. Obviously had a bit of an incident in Turn 1. And then, yeah, just overheated the tyres a little bit. And with the dirty air, it was so hard to get within a second. So, yeah, didn't make much progress there. But then the next two stints, it really started to come alive. Went a bit longer on both the pit stops and turns. Yeah, just kind of felt like we needed some more laps towards the end, unfortunately. But no, after starting seventh, obviously a good turnaround. Yeah, pretty happy.

Check out our Sunday gallery from the Red Bull Ring here.