George Russell’s Qualifying experience ahead of the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP definitely didn’t live up to its expectations. In fact, the Mercedes driver had begun to experience discomfort with his challenger during FP3 already, appearing once again down on speed compared to his teammate, championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
A complicated Qualifying for Russell ahead of the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP
Russell safely advanced through to Q3 in the grid-setting session. However, there began his troubles. In fact, his first timed attempt brought him up only to P7, with the pace of his W17 appearing not to be on par with the Ferrari and the McLaren cars.
Drama continued afterwards on the final flying lap time. In fact, Russell’ attempt was hindered by the yellow flags caused by Max Verstappen’s spin, which forced him to significantly reduce his speed. Then, the Mercedes pit wall asked him to stop the car, with the Brit’s day coming to a halt at Turn 1.
Following Kimi Antonelli’s three-place grid penalty, his teammate will have the opportunity to start from P6.
Asked to explain the situation of stopping, and whether the situation might pose a threat to the full length race tomorrow, Russell denied, explaining that his F1 Qualifying had ended because of a water leak.
“Well, we just had a weird water leak. I hit a bump at Turn 4. The lap was feeling good until then, and then suddenly the lap wasn’t, so I didn’t think much of it. The team told me the water was spraying over my tyres.”
Better hopes for the race
Following the communication, Russell was forced to abort his lap, although he believes there could have been potential for improving his starting position. While he believes completing the lap could have led to a better finish, the former Williams Racing driver is aware of the fact that he couldn’t have been a pole contender today, especially with the aforementioned issue.
“Because as soon as we saw it in the data, the water leak, suddenly my tyre temperatures got really cold on the rear. So, I don’t think much more, top 3, definitely not possible, but maybe a few position higher would have been there.”
With F1 Qualifying in the cards, Russell believes that more performance awaited Mercedes in the upcoming Hungarian GP race. In fact, the mediocre speed showed earlier confirmed the team’s predictions based on feedback from the three practice sessions.
“Well, I think our assessment after FP2 yesterday was we were about 7 tenths off in Qualy pace, and we had the quickest race pace. So, that tells you it’s not a car problem, it’s a tyre problem.
“I guess we’ll answer the question tomorrow if we have struck the right balance between the tyre heating for qualifying versus the race. But starting in P7, it’ll be difficult,” Russell concluded, highlighting his hopes but also the uncertainties experienced before the final day at the Hungaroring.
