George Russell described his victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as a form of vindication, signaling his return to strong performance after a "real tough period" during the Formula 1 season. The Mercedes driver narrowly edged out Red Bull's Max Verstappen in one of the closest finishes in history—by just 0.196 seconds. This was Russell's first win since the end of June, seven races ago. During that time, his teammate Kimi Antonelli secured three more victories, bringing his total to eight for the season. Russell's win, combined with Antonelli's fifth-place finish—after what the Italian admitted was his "worst weekend of the year in terms of performance"—has narrowed the points gap between them to 66. While this is still a significant deficit with either seven or eight races remaining, it is an improvement from the 81-point gap Russell faced before the Baku race. Russell acknowledged that Antonelli has had an "incredible season," describing him as "pretty flawless throughout," but expressed confidence in his own performance. "If I continue delivering performances like I've done this weekend, no matter what happens towards the end of the season, I'll be happy," Russell said. Russell has struggled this season, especially after Antonelli quickly adapted to the new Mercedes car following the biggest rule changes in F1 history. Russell felt he did not adapt as well, and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza was particularly painful for him. He started from the front row while Antonelli started 19th after a grid penalty. Russell believed it was a golden opportunity to make up ground, but Antonelli won the race with what will be remembered as one of the greatest drives in history. Antonelli admitted to being "a step behind" Russell during the Baku weekend, particularly after a mistake in qualifying that resulted in a wheel being taken off on an inside wall, which led to starting 16th. "I wasn't really present," Antonelli said, acknowledging that his mindset was not in the best place after the early incident. He emphasized the need to refocus ahead of the next race in Malaysia. Russell described this weekend as the first time all year when he felt he was simply superior to Antonelli. He credited his hard work and analysis with his engineers for adapting to the car, which he felt did not suit his driving style initially. "I'm very proud of the resilience that I and my close group of engineers have shown during the tough periods this year," Russell said. He noted that he has been on the front row in three of the last four races, securing three podiums, and now feels he can fight for victory consistently. The win was initially looking comfortable for Russell, as he led from the front in the first stint. However, two mid-race safety cars closed the field, allowing Verstappen to close in on Russell. Despite this, Russell remained flawless, even when a yellow flag on the final lap caused a loss of turbo boost pressure, leaving him vulnerable on the run to the flag. "It's for sure the most dominant weekend I've had in my career," Russell said. Mercedes is set to introduce its first major upgrade of the season in the upcoming Bahrain and Malaysia races, which Russell expressed excitement about. "Our car has been working exceptionally well on the low-drag circuits," he said. "We've got a really efficient car, so here at Baku we've been exceptionally fast. But I think from next week onwards, we're hoping to make a bigger step to the rest of the field." Russell acknowledged that Antonelli remains a strong favorite for the championship, but noted that he is not chasing the title. "I'm chasing to win every race, and what will be, will be," he said.