George Russell put together a stunning lap in Qualifying for the F1 Bahrain GP, which saw the Mercedes driver end the session in P2. However, a post-qualifying penalty sees him drop a spot on the grid.
In the third free practice session earlier today, Russell placed fourth, over a second adrift of fastest man Oscar Piastri.
With temperatures dropping, the margins were much tighter in Qualifying, though McLaren still seemed unbeatable.
However, Russell put in a stunning banker on his first run in Q3, splitting the McLaren duo and only a tenth adrift from the fastest provisional time set by Piastri.
On his second run, the Mercedes driver clocked in at 1:30.009, which briefly put him on top of the timings before Piastri went fastest.
Russell on his Qualifying performance
After Qualifying, Russell noted during the top 3 press conference that he did not expect to qualify on the front row for the Bahrain GP.
The Mercedes driver laments his struggles in Q1 and Q2, before it all came together in Q3 though he did not reckon he would come quite this close.
“Yeah, it was a really strong Q3.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really feeling it throughout qualifying and didn’t have the confidence in myself, which was quite a surprise.
“I don’t know why that was.
“Q1 and Q2 were a real challenge.
“But in Q3 I just got back into my normal rhythm and put in some strong laps.
“Really surprised to be a tenth and a half off pole and ahead of one of the McLarens and also Charles [Leclerc] up there as well.
“We were talking before — I think we were both shocked to be this close.
“So yeah, definitely a strong one.”
Lack of confidence in Q1 and Q2
Speaking on his issues during the early parts of Qualifying, Russell notes that he was lacking confidence.
In the end, Russell found enough confidence in Q3 to send it and put together a stunningly fast lap that earned him P2 on track.
“Q1 and Q2, usually you’re building up to Q3, but I hadn’t been feeling comfortable with the car today.
“And like Oscar [Piastri] said, I was doing donuts this morning, which is not really the best prep ahead of a qualifying session.
“But in Q3, I just sort of sent it and had a bit more confidence in myself, and the lap came together really nicely.
“So yeah, really strong, really clean lap and a great place to be.”
Expectations ahead of Qualifying
The great result in Qualifying for the Bahrain GP comes after a comparatively underwhelming performance in Japan, where Russell qualified P5.
The Mercedes driver reckons that there was a better result in the cards in Suzuka, whereas the expectations for Bahrain were nothing higher than P3.
Throwing it forward to the race, Russell believes that it will be a tall order to beat Piastri, considering McLaren is “ahead of the field” on tyres.
“I mean, this weekend’s totally different, to be honest.
“I was very disappointed in Japan with P5. I felt that we had the potential to qualify much higher up the order.
“But this weekend I wasn’t expecting to be on the front row.
“I thought P3 was going to be by far the maximum we could have achieved today. Realistically, anywhere from P3 to P6, maybe even P7.
“So, to be on the front row is a real surprise.
“I don’t expect it to be a straightforward race tomorrow.
“I think Oscar is going to be mighty fast.
“They seem to be a long way ahead of the field when it comes to tyre overheating and the track being too hot for the tyres, which is what we’re going to experience tomorrow.
“So, let’s see how it pans out.”
Looking ahead to the Bahrain GP
Unlike the previous rounds, where Qualifying pretty much determined the finishing order of the race, the Bahrain GP might be shaped by race pace.
While Russell was close in Qualifying, he does not believe that he could challenge for victory even if he managed to jump Piastri at the start.
“I think unlike the first three races of the season, this isn’t going to be necessarily a qualifying race.
“I think this is going to be the race which is most biased to the lap times you do in the race.
“Obviously, I hope to make a good start.
“I’ve been on the front row here before and got into the lead at Turn 1, so hopefully I can repeat that.
“But I think they’re so far ahead of everybody.
“They can pit early, pit late — they’ll probably potentially overtake us on track.
“But as I said, today we’re on the front row and nobody expected anyone but Lando and Oscar to be on the front row.
“So maybe another surprise tomorrow.”
