Fourth place finish for Mercedes driver George Russell at the Qatar Grand Prix

George Russell had a strong weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix despite numerous setbacks in the 'most physical race' of his career.

Russell led the sprint race and put on an impressive recovery drive in the Grand Prix after first-lap contact with Lewis Hamilton.

Going into Grand Prix qualifying after just one practice session, Russell set an impressive opening lap time which put him second on the timesheets and in the second stage.

Russell then set another storming lap, including the then fastest middle sector, to once again put him second place and through to the final stage of qualifying where he could battle it out for pole.

The 25-year-old's final qualifying lap put him in third place but a track limits infringement for another driver promoted Russell to the front row - his second in three races.

Tyre durability issues beset the race weekend with the track limits being changed before the Sprint Shootout and the FIA were forced to mandate a maximum age of 18 laps for the concerning Pirelli rubber.

In the Sprint Shootout, Russell set a string of amazing laps in the first two sessions, topping the timesheets in both sessions however he was off the pace when it matter and qualified fourth for the Sprint.

Starting alongside newly-crowned world champion Max Verstappen on soft tyres, Russell made a fabulous getaway and gained two places on the opening lap.

Following the safety car restart, Russell made a bold move on McLaren's Oscar Piastri and took the lead of the Sprint.

A second safety car then ensued which Russell managed well to extend his lead. However, the Mercedes driver's soft tyres began to age and he lost the lead and was overtaken by Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris to finish fourth.

Russell had a less successful start to the Grand Prix as his illustrious team-mate Hamilton drove into him in a failed attempt at a brazen overtake, dropping the driver from Tydd St Giles to the back of the field.

The resulting safety car allowed Russell to change his punctured tyres and reset ready to charge through the field.

Through a combination of great overtakes and other drivers making their required pit stops, Russell made his way up to second place.

Russell then made his second of many pit stops and dropped back to 15th where he once again made his way back up to the front of the field in second before his next tyre change.

Re-emerging from the pits in sixth, Russell was back in a strong position and proceeded to continue to charge forward, overtaking Guanyu Zhou and benefitting from Fernando Alonso taking a trip through the gravel.

Russell then took his final pit stop and finished fourth - an impressive result considering Mercedes' first lap shenanigans.

The Qatar Grand Prix was an incredibly challenging race due to the heat and humidity to the point Russell had to open his visor on the straight at more than 200mph to let some air in.

He said: "The incident at turn one was absolutely not intentional from either myself or Lewis. Visibility is so difficult in these cars. There are big blind spots and we both have so much respect for one another.

"There are still lots of positives to take away. Our goal is to get second place in the Constructors’ Championship and we managed to outscore Ferrari this weekend. Our pace was very strong too so we can be confident going into these final five races.

"The Grand Prix itself was incredibly tough. It was by far the most physical race I've ever competed. It was like being inside an oven! I was pretty happy to see the chequered flag."

The season continues on October 20-22 in America.