George Russell seemed set to fight for the top spots in Madrid before a mistake on his final lap dropped him to sixth place.
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George Russell had serious hopes of a front row start during the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying, but a mistake at the worst moment ultimately relegated him to sixth place. The Briton reveals he was well ahead of his own time on his last lap before suddenly losing grip at turn 11.
The disappointment is even greater as Russell was still in third position after the first Q3 attempt. But while he failed to improve his time, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc all improved, pushing the Mercedes driver onto the third row of the grid.
Russell had a three-tenths lead
The weekend had started very encouragingly for Russell, who set the fastest time in FP1 on Friday. In Q1, the Briton also finished on top despite contact with the wall at turn 21. A spectacular incident but without major consequences for his W17.
Asked after qualifying about any possible damage caused by this contact, Russell assured that his car was not affected for the rest of the session.
“No, I don’t think so. Obviously, it was slightly worrying at the time, but the car was fine. I went back out and finished the session on top just after, then I felt I was in the fight.”
The real problem came much later, during his final attempt in Q3. Russell was then on a lap that could have put him back at the top of the standings.
“On my last lap, I had about three tenths of a lead, but at turn 11, the tires gave up. I then lost all the time I had gained, so it was frustrating.”
Tires give out at the worst moment
Turn 11 precedes La Monumental, one of the fastest and most spectacular sectors of the new Madring. Russell had already pushed his tires hard in the first part of the lap and believes they simply could not handle this new strain.
This mistake cost him dearly. While he was in third place after the first Q3 attempts, he could not respond to his rivals’ improvements. Norris eventually took pole ahead of Antonelli, while Verstappen and Leclerc also moved ahead of Russell.
The Briton will therefore start only sixth, while his teammate will start from the front row. A situation far from ideal in the championship as Russell now trails Antonelli by 66 points.
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An asphalt that intrigues Russell
This loss of grip on his last lap could also give some indications about what awaits the drivers on Sunday. Russell describes an unusual surface, capable of generating a lot of grip while paradoxically causing a lot of slip.
“It’s a rather strange surface. The level of grip is very high, but the tires still slide a lot. The race will therefore be really interesting regarding their degradation.”
Tire management could thus become one of the key factors over the 57 laps of the Grand Prix. The high temperatures observed on Saturday already complicated the drivers’ work in qualifying and could also cause significant degradation if conditions remain similar on Sunday.
For Russell, this element could represent one of the few opportunities to shake up a race that otherwise promises to be difficult to unlock.
Russell criticizes the lack of overtaking opportunities
The Mercedes driver is indeed much less enthusiastic about the overtaking opportunities offered by the new Madrid layout. He compares some very fast sections to Jeddah and other more unusual braking zones to Baku, but mainly regrets the absence of a real place allowing easy attacks.
“It feels like Jeddah with all these fast corners, but there is also a bit of Baku with some quite particular braking zones.”
According to Russell, the main problem comes from how the longest straight of the circuit ends. Instead of leading to a heavy braking zone favoring overtaking, it guides drivers towards the roundabout-shaped sequence of turns 5 and 6.
“My little frustration might be about the circuit design and its lack of real overtaking opportunities. On every circuit, there is normally a clear chance to attack at the end of the longest straight.”
“Here, the longest straight actually leads to a very tight roundabout-shaped section.”
Russell will therefore have to find another way to climb back on Sunday. With Antonelli second and already 66 points ahead in the championship, his sixth place on the grid could cost him dearly if overtaking proves as difficult as he fears.