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After encountering numerous issues with his car at Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, George Russell says he’s “really happy to be standing here” in P2.
George Russell encountered numerous issues with his car at Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, which ultimately led to him having time for only one Q3 run.
The Briton’s car required a front-wing change between Q2 and Q3, and then on his out lap in Q3, the car stopped on the track. He managed to start it up again, but had to crawl to the pits in third gear.
Ultimately, Mercedes managed to get the car ready in time for one final run, and George was able to qualify in P2, behind his team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
“Definitely damage limitation,” George said after the session.
“In Q2, the front wing broke, and I was wrapping my head around that. Obviously, I went out in Q3, stopped on track, car wasn’t restarting, couldn’t change gear…
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“So, really happy to be standing here because at the start of the last lap I had no battery, no tyre temp, no nothing.
“But the team has done a great job to get us into this position. It could have been much worse. I’m very glad, and well done to this guy [Antonelli, standing beside him]. That’s pole.”
As for the race tomorrow, George said the main objective is to fend of the Ferrari duo, who qualified on the second row.
“We need to take care of the guys in red. They were super fast off the line [in the sprint race]. I’m sure Lewis [Hamilton] is going to be pretty dicey at the beginning of the race.
“For us, it’s about keeping it clean and putting on a good race for the fans, and we will see what we can do,” Russell concluded.
