Despite demonstrating impressive wet-weather pace and securing P7 after applying grid-penalties, George Russell experienced a chaotic Qualifying at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP. A late strategy miscommunication left him frustrated as rain intensified over the circuit.
Following a long weather delay and a chaotic Qualifying session, Russell talked to print media to break down the miscalculation in Q3, the extreme track conditions and the Constructors’ Championship outlook.
Russell disappointed by miscalculation
Reflecting on the closing moments of Q3, Russell expressed clear disappointment over missing out on pole position. He explained that a miscommunication with the team led to them believing another fast lap remained possible before heavy rain returned to the track.
When Russell was told to back off while being on a promising lap, the rain started to worsen and ruined any chance of improving.
“Yeah, I think it was just a bit of miscommunication. I need to speak with the team because we believed we’d get another lap before the rain came in. So, I was on a really strong lap and I was asked to back off because I caught up with Albon, and then obviously the rain came. So yeah, it was very disappointing. Need to understand how it happened and why we got that wrong. But I felt very strong the whole session. Similar to Lando, I had more confidence in the wet than I had in the dry. But yeah, definitely felt pole was there for the taking.”
Addressing whether he felt tempted to overrule his engineer, Russell emphasized that drivers must rely on the weather radar data available to the team. While acknowledging the call was incorrect, he defended his race engineer. Furthermore noting that information passes through multiple team members before reaching him. He insisted the team must find out why the mistake was made, instead of pointing fingers.
“They’ve got the weather forecast in front of them and I don’t. And, you know, this is where you need that trust and you’re relying on one another. Obviously, it was the wrong decision, and it was a decision that I think as soon as it was made, I think we knew it was the wrong one because already they could actually feel the rain pouring harder. So, we need to understand, you know, we’re relying on a lot of systems, and we can’t point the finger at somebody. 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 the radar. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating for me, and it’s not my engineer’s fault. He’s relaying information. He’s ultimately the one who passes the message on, but he’s got 12 people talking to him, giving him that information to relay on. So, we just need to understand why we made that decision.”
Russell talks about car performance at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP
However, Russell highlighted his confidence in the car in wet conditions, noting that his pace was very close to Lando Norris. The Mercedes driver also expressed hope for rain on race day, feeling his strength lies within wet weather.
Looking back at previous races at the São Paulo GP where virtual safety cars disrupted promising results, he noted that navigating the track conditions will once again prove crucial.
“I think so. You know, I felt really confident in the rain. I think my pace, along with Lando’s, was by far the best out there. I’m not sure who the drivers are going to be between Kimi and myself. We don’t have the normal suspects there, so that may make it slightly easier. But in the rain here, it’s always a challenge. I hope it is wet tomorrow. I feel I’ve got a greater chance if it’s wet. But, you know, Lando and I had a race here two years ago when we were one and two, and unfortunate timing of the VSC, and we were off the podium.”
Challenging track conditions
Describing the conditions during Q1, Russell detailed severe visibility issues down the straight into Turn 4. A lot of standing water caused dangerous aquaplaning at speeds over 200 kilometers per hour. He stressed that while he loves driving in the rain, the conditions crossed the line of safety.
“Yeah, I mean, especially Q1 was extremely challenging. You know, the visibility was zero down the straight into Turn 4. I was wheel-spinning in fifth gear, you know, over 200 kilometres an hour, aquaplaning. So, when you’re aquaplaning on the straight and you can’t see in front of you, it’s… I’m not even sure what the word is to describe it. You know, it does seem a bit crazy, I guess that’s what we have to deal with. I love driving in the rain. I love driving in the rain here, but at some point, if that was a race, there was no way we should be driving in that because the chances of seeing a really, really horrific incident are very, very high.”
During the break in Q1, he kept himself occupied by playing chess and chatting with his mechanics in the garage. Russell noted that while he was convinced at the time that track conditions would not allow a continuation of the Qualifying at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP, he welcomed the eventual restart.
“Played some chess. That was about it, really. Spoke with the mechanics, and I was pretty convinced it was not going to restart. But I think, yeah, nice that we did.”
Russell on the Constructors’ Championship at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP
Looking at the Constructors’ Championship, Russell reflected on the significance of Mercedes closing in on their first title in four years. He praised team principle Toto Wolff’s steady leadership throughout difficult seasons. Furthermore highlighting that the team maintained core belief in its members rather than resorting.
With the team on the verge of securing the title, Russell gave full credit to the entire team for fighting back through challenging seasons. He emphasized that whether the championship is won this weekend or at the next race, the achievement reflects years of hard work.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, it’ll be the first time for the team in four years. It’s going to mean a huge amount because, you know, we have been through a lot over those years. It’s been extremely tough times. But I think something I admire a lot from Toto’s leadership is the people we have today are the same people who were there during the glory years, and they’re the same people who went through the difficulties during 2022 to 2025. Nobody was hired and fired. The trust and belief stayed with the core group of people, and, you know, now we’ve come through. And, you know, obviously, Kimi won the championship. We are going to win the championship, whether it’s this weekend or next. And, you know, credit to everybody in the team, but yeah, huge credit to Toto for that loyalty and belief in the people, even when times were tough.”
Addressing Toto Wolff’s radio message
Addressing Toto Wolff’s radio message telling him he’s in P2, Russell acknowledged that it would have meant a lot for him if he would have gotten pole position. Having missed out on pole by tiny margins the weekend before, he admitted the outcome felt personally disappointing.
However, Russell recognized the importance of keeping the team morale high. He noted that members on the team felt just as disappointed about the miscommunication as he did.
The Mercedes driver noted the car’s pace and performance, accepting that starting slightly further back still offers a strong opportunity to move forward at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, from the team side, we’ve got one goal this weekend, which is to win the championship, and that’s very much the goal of everyone within the team. For me personally, given the circumstances of last week, it would have meant a lot to me to take pole today. I missed it last week by nine milliseconds, but that was a real surprise. Today, I really felt every lap I was doing, I was top of the leaderboard most laps I completed. So yeah, I’m really, really disappointed with how that panned out. But in the scheme of things, it didn’t change a huge amount. On a five-place penalty tomorrow, P6, now on P7, still a great chance to move forward.”
“Yeah, as I said, when you’re a driver, you’re the one who feels it the most. And, you know, going back to his leadership skills, we have to remember, you know, we collectively made a misjudgement today, and there’s members of my team who are going to be feeling as bad as I am currently. So, you know, it’s important to remember that, and we need to just keep the morale high. It was a very solid performance, and I guess we take the positive from that. But yeah, there’s no point for pole, but it would have just been a nice little one to add to the tally.”
