George Russell enjoyed a solid weekend in the latest round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championships at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The Carlin driver was fifth in race one and seventh in race two. The final race was abandoned due to adverse weather conditions.

Qualifying proved to be a very tight affair, with Russell claiming a top ten spot in both sessions.

Russell said: “In both qualifying sessions we ended up P7, but it was slightly frustrating as both times all of the drivers were so close, so an extra 0.075 of a second would’ve put me quite a lot higher.”

Race one saw Russell make a great start, making up two places by the end of lap two and he held on to fifth to the flag, despite pressurising fourth place Lance Stroll right to the end.

Russell said: “For the first race we made a really good start and managed to get into P5 straight away. We had good pace throughout but this circuit is quite difficult to overtake on, so we couldn’t quite optimise the pace.”

Race two saw Russell involved in some feisty racing at the front which took him up to fourth place, however he ran wide whilst overtaking which allowed several others by.

He said: “For the second race, we made another good start and on the first lap I was already fighting for P4. I saw an opportunity and I decided to take it. The move was almost complete but just unfortunately I ran a bit wide on exit and dropped back down to seventh, in which we ended the race.

“For the final race the weather conditions were extremely poor and the race got called off after a few attempts to get it going. I was looking forward to the race but as we know in motorsport, safety has to come first.”

With three race weekends remaining, Russell is fifth in the overall standings. The FIA F3 European Championship heads to Portimao, Portugal, on the weekend of September 4-6.