George Russell would have bitten your arm off for the result he delivered in Singapore on Saturday
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be right next to each other when the lights go out for the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday. The Mercedes duo occupied the second row during Saturday’s qualifying session, with Hamilton third and Russell fourth.
Depending on which team member you talk to – and when you spoke to them – that was either a disappointing outcome or something they could have only dreamed of earlier in the week.
Russell exclusively highlighted these fluctuations in the team’s post-qualifying report.
“If you had told us yesterday that we would qualify on the second row of the grid, we would definitely have done it. However, given the improvements we have made overnight and how the car was in FP3, I would reconsider,” said Russell.
“I was feeling very confident in the car, and everything was going smoothly. However, that feeling was lost in Q1 and I would have bitten your arm off for P4,” Russell added. “We suffered from a lack of grip and were only able to progress from each segment to Q3. However, once we got there I was able to put in a good lap and overall, we can’t be disappointed with the way we ended the day.”
During the first segment of qualifying, Russell seemed almost nervous about the tyres of the W15 as he struggled to find grip on the circuit. But when Q3 ended, he was on P4.
Struggles at Ferrari may have played a part in this, as Carlos Sainz Jr’s hard shunt at the start of Q3 ended his qualifying and brought a red flag on the track. When qualifying resumed every driver had enough time for one lap, and Charles Leclerc saw his attempt destroyed for exceeding track limits.
As for Hamilton, he qualified third, a result he appreciated considering the difficulties he has faced in qualifying this season.
“I’ve been working really hard to improve my qualifying performance and put myself back in the lead on Saturday. The car came to life today and we had one of our best Saturdays in a long time,” Hamilton said in the team’s report. “It was a great feeling. It was tough to only have one attempt in Q3 after the red flag, and there was probably a little more left in the car, but overall, I’m really grateful for what we achieved today.”
Hamilton explained in detail how satisfying the result was. FIA press conference after the qualifying session.
“I mean, to be here with these guys (pole-sitter Lando Norris and Max Verstappen), who are great drivers. I haven’t been here for a long time and yeah, qualifying has been a nightmare for a long time,” Hamilton said after the session“So it’s great to be here. I’m very, very grateful and very, very happy. And I think from here hopefully George and I will be on the second row, so hopefully from here we’ll be able to put pressure on these two and even get ahead of McLaren and Red Bull and Ferrari is a big one too, considering how fast Ferrari are here. So yeah, I hope we can catch these guys tomorrow.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also described the weekend so far as a roller-coaster ride for the team.
“After a difficult Friday, we were fully prepared to lock out the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s race and were happy with that. However, after the progress we made with the car overnight, and then the pace we showed in FP3, P3 and P4, it feels a bit disappointing,” Wolff explained. “After all that, it’s not a bad place to start the race.”
The Mercedes boss expects even more “ups and downs” in the race.
“The fluctuations in performance on Friday and Saturday have affected several teams, which is strange,” said Wolff. “Ferrari fell a bit behind today, while Max (Verstappen) took a step forward, as did we.
“I suspect we’ll see similar ups and downs tomorrow. Hopefully the work we’ve done to improve the car since Friday will translate into our race pace and allow us to compete for the podium on Sunday.”