George Russell, no dive into Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas: “I wanted to do it, but then…”. George Russell chose not to dive into the famous fountain of the Bellagio Hotel to celebrate his victory in the Las Vegas GP..

Crowning a masterpiece and entirely unexpected weekend, George Russell secured his second win of the season (it would have been three without the disqualification at Spa), fully capitalizing on the stunning pole position he forcefully achieved on Saturday.

The English driver owes much to the W15, which, under conditions of extremely low temperatures and limited grip, almost miraculously became a highly competitive car again, as demonstrated in some “cold” races in recent months, such as Silverstone.

No pool dive for George Russell
The podium ceremony, now a tradition, was held right in front of the monumental fountain located at the Bellagio Hotel, one of the most iconic symbols of Sin City.

While many expected a celebratory pool dive, George Russell preferred not to overdo it, mindful of the pneumonia he caught last year, which, by his own admission, had knocked him out for quite some time during the offseason.

“I really wanted to do it, but after the race, I was so cold that I thought I might get seriously ill,” the Briton commented at the end of the race. Last year, around this time, I caught pneumonia and was unwell until mid-February after Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.”

“So, in the moment, I wanted to do it, but then I thought back to the difficulties I faced 12 months ago because it’s a real strain on the body. To be honest, it was all the champagne that left me soaking wet.”

Mercedes returns as the Silver Arrow
Finally, analyzing the dominance displayed from the first to the last lap, George Russell stated: “It was a real surprise to see how strong our pace was, and securing pole yesterday made me very happy. I believe we won the race in the first stint. Honestly, the first stint was exceptional.” – the Mercedes driver pointed out.

“From that moment on, I knew the only way to lose the victory would be to suffer graining and destroy the tires. So it was just about managing my pace, managing the right corners, and bringing home the result. On tracks like this, relatively smooth, we can lower the car and make it quite stiff. With little to no bumps on the track, we fly.”