George Russell qualified fourth for the 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP, nearly nine tenths back from pole-sitter Lando Norris, which seemed a disappointing result considering the Mercedes driver had topped FP3, Q1 and Q2 prior to that.
“Fortunate” to qualify P4 after steering issue
But speaking in the print media pen after qualifying, Russell revealed he was “fortunate” to salvage a fourth place from it, as he suffered from an issue with his power steering system in the final lapof qualifying, which prevented him from challenging for pole position in the crucial session and could have left him even further down the order:
“I had a steering issue in Q3, I don’t know what it was,” he revealed. “It was like a power steering issue.It was a real shame, obviously. It was quickest in P3, quickest in Q1, quickest in Q2. And on my second lap, I thought I had to stop the car on track, because I couldn’t turn the steering properly.
“So I don’t know what it was. I feel fortunate to have qualified P4, considering. But of course, it feels like a missed opportunity.“
“Pretty horrendous” grip in wet F1 Las Vegas GP track
With the tricky conditions around the F1 Las Vegas GP circuit, Russell didn’t hold back in saying the track felt “pretty horrendous” and “not fun” to drive – but reiterated he enjoyed the challenge posed by such treacherous conditions:
“Yeah, pretty horrendous. It wasn’t fun at all, but it’s a nice challenge,” he said. “You don’t want it to be the same every week. It’s a nice challenge.”
When asked about some drivers’ claims that this was the worst track conditions they ever faced – including Oscar Piastri – Russell claimed it was only second to those seen at the 2020 Turkish GP, when a new asphalt at Istanbul meant drivers were driving “on ice” were similar to tho:
“I think that’s probably the drivers who haven’t driven in Turkey in 2020, or whatever year this was,” he said. “Everybody knew it was going to be challenging. No tyres are designed for this type of circuit.
“I do think the job for Pirelli would be a lot easier if all the tarmacs were consistent,” he said. “Because there’s already enough variables with temperature, with circuit layout, with altitude, with downforce levels, tyre compounds.
“So then having another variable of the tarmac just seems a little bit [too much].”
Despite his Mercedes team being summoned to the stewards after qualifying for failing to send their car’s set-up sheet in time for the qualifying hour, no further action was taken and Russell will start the 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP from fourth on the grid, behind Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
