George Russell finishes fifth at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in second race since joining Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

George Russell continued his impressive start to the new Formula 1 season with a fifth-place finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Lining up from sixth on the grid after a solid qualifying session, he slipped past Alpine's Esteban Ocon and only finished behind the in-form Ferrari and Red Bull duos.

The result followed on from Russell's fourth-place result in the season opener at Bahrain.

The former Wisbech Grammar School student, who hails from Tydd St Giles, sits fourth in the 2022 Driver Standings after two races at his new team, Mercedes.

"It was quite an enjoyable race considering I was all by myself throughout, pushing as hard as I could," he said.

"Probably say the most physical race I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1, which was pretty cool to experience really because that’s what it’s all about really, pushing hard on a mega circuit like this, high-speed.

"It’s the fact of that concentration mixed with incredibly high-speed corners, kind of holding on for dear life almost.

"But I want to be doing this for victories, not for P5 all by myself. We have work to do, but maximised everything."

Despite Russell's impressive finish, he was considerably behind the top four as Mercedes continue to be plagued by early-season difficulties. Next up is the Australian Grand Prix on April 10.