At the conclusion of the China Sprint qualifying, George Russell exchanged a heartfelt hug with Lewis Hamilton, expressing his admiration for Hamilton’s record-breaking pole position. Russell, who is set to start from P5, expressed satisfaction with his performance, describing it as a fair reflection of his pace. However, the McLaren team’s performance, falling short of the front row, caught him by surprise.
In the aftermath of a challenging debut for Hamilton with Ferrari in Melbourne, the seven-time World Champion unveiled an impressive new lap record, securing pole for the Sprint race in China. Occupying the front row alongside Hamilton will be his former title adversary, Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Hamilton’s victory lap was met with thunderous applause as he parked his Ferrari right in front of the ‘1’ sign. He humbly acknowledged the crowd’s adoration, even as his former Mercedes teammate, Russell, came over to join in the celebration with a congratulatory hug.
In his post-qualifying interview, Russell continued to sing praises of Hamilton. “Kudos to Lewis for clinching the pole. His lap was truly remarkable,” Russell said, reflecting on his own performance. He then expressed his satisfaction with his lap in Q3 and discussed the unexpected progression from being outside the top 10 to jumping to P2 in Q2.
Navigating the Sprint race’s limited laps and temperamental tyres requires precision, Russell explained. He was content with his performance, noting, “P5 is not a bad place to start.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s race, Russell is optimistic about Mercedes’ chances. He believes that the race could swing in favor of any of the top teams, including his own. Despite McLaren’s impressive performance in practice and early qualifying rounds, Russell was taken aback when they failed to secure a front-row position. However, he remains hopeful, stating, “I think we’ve got a shot in the Sprint. It could be quite an exciting race.”
Russell’s teammate at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, will be leading the fourth row following his first F1 Sprint qualifying experience. Antonelli found the SQ1 and SQ2 rounds, which mandated medium tyres, to his liking. However, he struggled in the final segment when the soft tyres were introduced.
Reflecting on his performance, Antonelli noted, “SQ2 was pretty tight, and I was feeling good with the car, but on softs, I really struggled, especially in that first lap. The grip was very poor, and I think the warm-up was not optimal on my side.”
Despite the challenges, Antonelli remains optimistic, stating that he feels much more confident in the Mercedes now and is looking forward to what’s next. He concluded, “On mediums, I was feeling really good. The feeling was good out there, but yeah, it’s a shame that on softs didn’t go as well.”