George Russell said he was “really disappointed” after he insisted a “misjudgment” by his Mercedes team had cost him pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Russell drove impressively during an extremely challenging wet qualifying session at Interlagos, but ultimately lost out on pole position by two tenths to McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The Mercedes driver had led Norris by four-tenths of a second after their first runs in Q3, but was then told to abort his second run when he was tripped by Alex Albon’s Williams.
Mercedes thought Russell would have time to complete another push lap, but the rain intensified moments later and prevented anyone from going faster for the remaining seven minutes of the session.
Russell reacted furiously over team radio, questioning the instruction for him to abort and insisting that despite the time he was losing to Albon, he would have been able to better Norris’ time.
While Russell is serving a five-place ban in Brazil for getting a new internal combustion engine, he would not have started from pole under any circumstances and will now start Sunday’s race in seventh.
“I think it was just a miscommunication,” Russell said. “I need to talk to the team because we believed we would do another lap before the rain came down.
“So I was on a really strong lap and I was asked to retire because I caught Albon and then obviously the rain came.
“So, yes, it was very disappointing. I have to understand how it happened and why we got it wrong.
“But I felt really strong, throughout the session. Similar to Landon, I was more confident in the wet than in the dry. But yeah, I definitely felt pole was there for the taking.”
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A deflated George Russell reacts to his qualifying session in Sao Paulo
Asked if he considered canceling the instruction to cut his lap, Russell added: “They have the weather forecast in front of them and I don’t. And that’s where you need that trust and you’re leaning on each other.
“Obviously, it was the wrong decision and it was a decision that I think, once it was made, I think we knew it was wrong because now they could feel the rain coming down harder.”
Despite his obvious disappointment, Russell insisted that his race engineer Marcus Dudley, along with other colleagues, were not responsible, given that the decision would have been guided by the information they were seeing.
“We have to understand, we’re relying on a lot of systems. We can’t point the finger at anybody,” Russell said.
Russell was frustrated to miss out on pole position in Brazil
“We need to understand why we made that decision and whether our systems were telling us what we needed to know because you’re relying on radar.
“But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating for me. It’s not my engineer’s fault. He’s relaying information.
“He’s ultimately the one delivering the message. But he’s got 12 people talking to him, giving him the information to deliver, so we just have to figure out why we made that decision.”
Wolff unsure Russell would have taken pole with lapsed lap
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he did not think Russell would have been able to beat Norris to pole on the lap due to the time his driver was losing to Albon.
“If we had a crystal ball to know whether you should retire or not, that would be helpful,” Wolff said. Sky Sports F1.
“It was a tough one, a 50-50 call. He was running into Albon.
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Martin Brundle believes Kimi Antonelli’s world title win could cause an ‘overdrive’ for George Russell, or is the last ‘game’ for his Mercedes team-mate.
“He was 18 milliseconds ahead of Norris at that stage. I don’t think it would have been enough for pole, but he drove the car perfectly throughout the session and deserved to be on pole.
“He deserved it, but you can’t make that call. It’s 50 percent right or wrong. George was in a league of his own today.”
Russell’s frustrations follow team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who qualified third, being crowned world champion at last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.
The Briton was dropped from his post-race media duties in Mexico after Wolff described him as “concerned”, with Russell revealing in Brazil that he had found the situation difficult to deal with, particularly after a technical issue saw him drop from second on the grid in the opening lap.
As Russell expressed his anger at being instructed to stop the lap in Brazil, Wolff took to the radio in an apparent attempt to diffuse the situation after telling his co-driver it was a strong result.
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With Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli winning the world title at the last race, George Russell reflects on what has been a difficult season for him.
Asked about his feelings on Wolff’s radio communication with him, Russell said he understood the Austrian was trying to protect the wider morale of the team.
“When you’re the driver, you’re the one who feels it the most,” Russell said. “And going back to his (Wolff’s) driving skills, we have to remember, we collectively made a bad judgment call today, and there are members of my team who will feel as bad as I do right now.
“So it’s important to remember that and we have to keep our morale up.
“It was a very solid performance, and I think we take positives from it. No points for a pole, but it would have been just a nice little bit to add to the record.”
Would Russell have the pole?
Sky Sports pundits Karun Chandhok and Bernie Collins were divided on whether Russell would have claimed pole had he finished the lap behind Albon.
Chandhok said: “In George’s mind, he felt like he should have moved on.
“I don’t think he would have beaten Landon to be honest. He was so close to Alex and he would have had to follow him. I don’t know if he would have taken pole.
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On this day in 2022, George Russell secured his first Formula 1 victory as the Mercedes driver triumphed at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“I can see the frustration, but personally, I think he would have wasted more time getting stuck behind Albon and I don’t think he would have beaten Landon.”
But Collins said: “I can understand why he is disappointed.
“I think he would be on pole in that second lap because his fastest first and second sector, with Albon’s third fastest sector is enough for pole.
“His mid-sector on that lap was actually seven-tenths up.”
Sky Sports F1 Sao Paulo GP Live
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Watch some of the most dramatic moments that happened at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Sunday, November 8
15:30: Sunday’s Grand Prix: Sao Paulo GP Preparation
17:00: Grand Prix of SAO PAULO
19:00: Checkered flag: Sao Paulo GP reaction
20:00: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1 is in Brazil for the final leg of the triple header with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW
