George Russell: “It’s amazing to be back on the top step, so I want to say a big thank you to the team for helping me through a tough moment. The first half of the race felt pretty plain sailing, getting the gap, but after the safety car and I saw Max behind me I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“But when the yellow flag came out, I lifted off the power, and when I came back had no turbo, then I had no turbo, and Max nearly got me at the line.”
Max Verstappen: “We had a good race. It was a little bit difficult with the medium tyre but we still worked our way into P3, then when I got to P2 it was one second, 1.1…
“In the final lap, in the yellow flag, George lost a bit of boost so that’s why I caught up quite a bit. It got close, but not enough…”
Isack Hadjar: “It’s been a very long six weeks, six weeks since I injured myself. It felt like the right moment to come back, I felt strong. I took it step by step, you can end up in the wall easily and I didn’t need that. And it’s a first proper podium on pure pace, so I’m delighted.
“I’m completely satisfied even though [my wrist is] a bit numb. I’m looking forward to the rest of the racing, it’ll be a packed schedule and I’m looking forward to Sepang.”