George Russell will start the Austrian GP from the third row after qualifying in P5.
After taking victory at the last round in Canada, Russell started the weekend strong by finishing first in FP1 for the Austrian GP.
As the weekend progressed, McLaren emerged as the team to beat, but Mercedes looked like a strong contender for the remaining podium slot.
However, Qualifying didn’t run as smoothly, leaving Russell with only one fresh set of soft tyres for his Q3 run.
Russell: P5 was maximum
In the end, Russell qualified in P5 for the Austrian GP over 7-tenths adrift from pole-sitter Norris.
In the print media pen following Qualifying, Russell acknowledged that P5 was the maximum he could have achieved today.
“Yeah, I think that was definitely the maximum we could have gotten.
“I think the gap to everyone except Lando is quite understandable.
“Lando obviously did a really amazing job all day today, and that was probably bigger than we thought.
“But we know our strengths and our weaknesses, and this was never going to be a strong race for us.”
Multiple factors went against Mercedes
Coming off a strong weekend in Canada, the result after Qualifying for the Austrian GP seems like a step back.
Russell believes that the performance deficit this weekend is due to a combination of multiple factors.
The Mercedes driver points to high track temperatures, the abrasiveness of the tarmac, and the high-speed corners, which are a known weakness of the W16, as contributing aspects.
“I think it’s just a combination of everything.
“The track is hot, somewhere around 50 degrees.
“The tarmac is pretty abrasive, high-speed corners, and it sort of all goes against us in the same way as everything in Canada went for us.
“We know where we need to improve, if there are no major surprises.
“There’s always a tough one to swallow every time you’re coming to a weekend knowing you’re not going to be on top of everything.”
Questioned whether the wind hampered his chances, Russell responded that they could account for wind changes and adapt accordingly.
“You know what the wind is doing, and you just have to adapt.
“It’s just part of being an F1 driver.”
The Q3 Incident
At the start of Q3, Russell was released into the queue of cars waiting to exit the pit lane. The incident was noted by the stewards and investigated after the session.
The Briton notes that poor visibility inside the cockpit contributed to the incident, but that he did not expect a penalty.
“Yeah, I went and I saw a few drivers pulling out.
“Then you have a massive blind spot. You don’t have a window that you can look through; you can only move your head so much.
“The mirrors, it’s a massive blind spot.
“You’ve got to go to the stewards and don’t expect any issue, but that’s just part of it.”
The stewards later reprimanded Russell for the incident.
Looking ahead to the race
Looking ahead to the race, Russell views McLaren as the favorites for the victory in the Austrian GP.
“Yeah, for sure.
“Ferrari have been quite a surprise in their performance, but we know these conditions suit McLaren.”
About his chances, Russell said:
“Finishing where we started.”
