George Russell has revealed that he was prepared for an aggressive Max Verstappen in Qatar after the Dutchman’s one place demotion for an incident in qualifying. Instead, having had a poor start off the line, Verstappen came by the British driver with ease. The Mercedes racer would cross the finish line in P4 – a position Russell said was probably ‘flattering’ based on his performance.
Once it had been announced that Verstappen was demoted one place to P2 after going unnecessarily slowly in qualifying, Russell found himself promoted to pole but also found himself in the sights of the (yet be officially crowned) 4-time F1 Drivers’ Champion. As a result of this, Russell said post-race that he had been bracing himself for an aggressive move by Verstappen which could have seen the pair make contact.
“To be honest I was expecting a crash.” Russell admitted. “But ultimately we made it easy for him because both Lewis and I made a terrible start.”
All over before Turn One
A terrible start by Russell – yes – but also a smooth lightning reaction from the former pole-sitter. Verstappen wasted no time setting off when the lights went out and was already in the lead by Turn 1.
“So, it was a pretty simple overtake for him, which was a bit frustrating for us.” Russell continued. “But it’s strange how when things are working and the car is quick, everything seems just to work so well. And when the car is off the pace a bit, everything just seems to go wrong. Today was a great example of that.”
With Russell’s poor start, race fans also missed out on a first corner duel which had been hyped up so much. Social media had already seen fans taking the side of their driver and claiming whether the penalty was or was not an unfair one. Russell also said how he had been looking forward to battling wheel to wheel with Verstappen but that was not possible in the end.
“We know Max is a fighter and is aggressive. I expect no different. I really wanted to go out there and fight with him today like we could have done in the sprint. But yesterday in the sprint he was probably two or three tenths behind us. Today, we were two or three tenths behind him. It just goes to show what a night can do in this sport. It’s always on a knife’s edge and it’s a shame we didn’t have the pace when it mattered.”
More questions than answers
Russell’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton, spoke of a lack of luck on team radio as he had to pit late in the race for a puncture. However, Russell could make an argument for also lacking luck in Qatar. He had an uncharacteristically long pitstop to contend with and was handed a five-second penalty.
The penalty was in fact due to leaving more than 10 car lengths between himself and the Safety Car. However, luck certainly came back the way of the British driver after he benefited from Carlos Sainz’s puncture and a widely published ‘harsh’ Lando Norris 10-second stop-and-go penalty.
When reflecting on his race, Russell was surprised and confused in equal measure: “I think P4 is probably a flattering result considering how the race went. Funny how this sport changes so overnight. Everything was great on Friday, Saturday was a great day. And then we had no pace today. At best we were two or three tenths behind Max and Lando. Start was bad, had a slow pit stop. Penalty. I don’t even know what for, to be honest. So, yeah, it’s strange.”
A new way of stewarding?
Due to being the drivers’ representative on the GPDA, Russell was asked as to whether there had been any indication prior to the race from the FIA that they would be harsher when it came to penalties and sanctions.
“No, there was zero indication that they wanted to be much harsher.” Russell replied. “ I don’t even know all the penalties before. I need to review that now. I don’t even know what my penalty is for. I know it’s something to do with the Safety Car but I don’t know when or how or why. So, yeah, I’ll have a look and see.”
All in all, a race of confusion, inconsistency and unpredictability. A phrase that could certainly sum up the 2024 F1 season for Mercedes. The season has one more story left to tell and what Mercedes arrives on track is anyone’s guess. However, as we have seen, even if they are strong – or weak for that matter – in qualifying, it does not mean that will be the case on Race Day,
