"It's coming to me a bit more intuitively," says race winner George Russell following a weekend of domination in Baku.

Other than FP3, which saw Max Verstappen top the timesheets - for the first time this season - Russell was quickest in every practice session, claimed pole, won the race and posted the fastest lap.

He also took 15 points out of his teammate's championship lead.

One of several drivers unable to get to grips with the new era of cars, the Mercedes driver claims that his Baku weekend may have finally seen him - groan - turn a corner.

"It feels it feels great to be honest," Russell told reporters at race end. "I'm very proud of the sort of resilience that I, and my close group of engineers have shown during the tough periods this year, because there's been a lot of hard work to overcome some of the challenges to adapt my driving style to suit this new car better.

"F1 is so tough," he added, "you don't get opportunities to practise this.

"Finally, it's coming to me a bit more intuitively than it once did," he grinned. "And I'm gaining confidence, especially on circuits like this. It just allows you to eke out that little bit more on the brakes, get that little bit closer to the walls. It's been a flawless weekend."

Friday witnessed his first pole since Austria, Saturday his first time atop the podium since that same weekend back in late June.

"I think I never lost that faith in myself," he insisted, "even through tough moments. I knew there was a reason why I was off the pace. It wasn't like I just suddenly forgot how to drive. And I knew I would be able to find it again. I just had to be patient.

"So I feel confident now. It's been four races since the break and on the front row in three of them. So three podiums from the four races, I feel I can fight for victory week in week out now."

Referring to the title fight, he said: "For sure, there's much less pressure on me than there is on him.

"The game plan is to win every race," he added. "My teammate has had an incredible season. He has been flawless, but now we are getting to crunch time.

"Right now, I feel if the season started today, I would very much be able to fight. I have got this big deficit, but it can change quickly. I am not chasing that. I am chasing a win at every race. And what will be, will be."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Baku here.