Coming off a win at Austria, Mercedes’ George Russell had a rough qualifying session for the 2026 F1 British GP. In Q1, Russell ran through the gravel at Luffield corner and was lucky to just tap the barrier. He recovered to advance, and and will start 4th for Sunday’s race. It was another hurdle in a weekend that has seen a lack of straight-line speed compared to teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell, Mercedes “working super hard” to find missing pace
“There was no damage [from the Q1 incident] but all weekend we’ve been losing lots of time in the straights. Yesterday in SQ3 it was almost three tenths I lost in the straights. Again, today qualifying, if you’re looking at the speed traps, it’s 3kph down in the middle sector. 6kph down in the last sector compared to my teammate and compared to the McLaren cars. The team are working super hard to understand why that is.
“We thought we found the problem this morning and we thought the brakes were locking on but we’re not convinced that’s the issue. But it just compounds everything when you get into a session knowing you’re at a bit of a disadvantage. The deployment looks OK. I’m just offset on speed in the straight. It just looks like I’m running more of a draggier car. If you look at the speed trace of qualifying yesterday and you look at the speed traps from today, it’s the same.”
Russell: “I definitely would have been higher up” at F1 British GP qualifying
After F1 British GP qualifying, Russell will be starting off the front row for just the third time this season. He is trying to keep up with Antonelli, still 40 points ahead in the championship after Russell’s win last race. The pace gap is a mystery that is frustrating the veteran driver. He acknowledged that “I wouldn’t have been on pole, for sure, but I definitely would have been higher up yesterday, and I think in the fight yesterday” with that extra speed.
“Today, for pole in qualifying, maybe run one of Q3, I’d have been at the front and then the mindset changes. But I’ve just sort of felt on the back foot coming into today and I’ll do my best tomorrow to get on the podium.”
