Toto Wolff reveals how close George Russell was to being benched in Baku

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed George Russell’s participation in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was “touch and go” after battling illness all weekend.

Russell skipped media day on Thursday in Baku due to being unwell but recovered in time to take part in Friday practice and complete the remainder of the weekend.

Despite feeling under the weather all weekend, the Briton finished an impressive second place behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Sunday’s grand prix.

Mercedes team principal Wolff has admitted his side nearly had to call on the services of reserve driver Valtteri Bottas.

“He was properly poorly,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “On Friday, it was touch and go in the morning.

“He himself said ‘I’m not sure I can make it’ and then somehow you recover. But then overnight it got worse again every single day.

“I think it was a big push from him to even drive and then to perform like this is mega.”

George Russell had ‘pretty rough’ few days

Russell did not speak to any media until after Sunday’s race and also got dispensation from the circuit’s medical delegate to miss Friday’s drivers’ briefing.

“I’m feeling better, today. The last couple of days have been pretty rough,” Russell explained to Sky Sports F1. “Fortunately last night was my first semi-decent night and feeling on my way back up.

“We wasn’t sure what the right strategy would be, which was why we decided to split the cars with Kimi and I.

“We thought the McLarens were going to be on the hard, we thought at least one of the Ferraris were going to be on the hard and we thought they were going to be our main competitors.

“Obviously Carlos drove an amazing race, he was really quick. I felt good on the hard, I was pushing.

“I felt confident and really attacked the pit entry, think I gained a lot of lap time there on the pit entry and that made the difference, so really happy with the result.”

Russell remains fourth in the drivers’ championship on 212 points following his seventh podium of the season.

Teammate Kimi Antonelli finished fourth as the Italian teenager finally arrested his woeful run of form with a much-needed confidence boost in Azerbaijan.

The result sees Mercedes leapfrog rivals Ferrari into second place in the constructors’ championship.