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George Russell has ignited the fight between Mercedes and reigning world champion Max Verstappen after the Red Bull star confirmed his third World Championship in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.<\/p>\n
Verstappen has been simply untouchable in 2023, taking 13 wins from a possible 16 ahead of the Qatar GP weekend to line up his third World Championship in record-breaking style.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Russell, Mercedes have rarely been in the fight this year. The 25-year-old driver notched his first win in Brazil last year but has been unable to challenge Verstappen at the front so far this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite this, Russell still believes that his team can take the fight to Red Bull in 2024. They’ll be better placed to so after scrapping the ‘zeropod’ design philosophy ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.<\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> Nico Rosberg brutally calls out Lance Stroll after awkward Qatar GP TV interview[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about Verstappen and Red Bull after the sprint race in Qatar, Russell said: \u201cYeah I mean huge congratulations to him and Red Bull.<\/p>\n “They\u2019ve obviously\u2026 from the outset Red Bull were far superior to everybody else and then Max has obviously just been on another level recently.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/b>\u201cSo [I] can only congratulate him. We\u2019ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and raise our game to give them some trouble next year because, you know, nobody likes to see that dominance and we want to be there in the fight and putting them under a bit of pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n More F1… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n If Mercedes are to take the fight to Red Bull and Verstappen they will need to make major strides forward over the winter. With the World Championship in his hands heading into this weekend, the Dutchman showed no signs of easing off.<\/p>\n Discussing his latest honours, Verstappen said: “It’s a fantastic feeling. [It’s] been an incredible year. Lots of great races, super proud of the job from the team. It’s been so enjoyable to be part of that group of people.<\/p>\n “To be a three-time world champion is just incredible. We will keep on pushing, doing the best we can. Today was quite an exciting race, a bit of a shame with the Safety Cars, but overall it was fun out there. Just incredibly happy at the moment.”<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton and Russell among eight drivers facing Qatar GP investigation[MERCEDES] <\/strong>
Lando Norris issues scathing response to Fernando Alonso as cheeky jibe made[NORRIS] <\/strong>
Max Verstappen reprimanded by engineers as he clinches third world title[VERSTAPPEN] <\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/73\/590x\/secondary\/Max-Verstappen-Red-Bull-4999914.jpg?r=1696708279373\")
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