George Russell will start eighth in the main race of the São Paulo Formula 1 Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver qualified in sixth – below what he felt was possible – but a penalty due to an infringement in Q1 relegates him to eighth.
#63 stated in a statement: ‘The weather was absolutely crazy! I’ve never seen it change so dramatically like during Q3. I’m really disappointed with my last quick lap. I was sliding and had no grip. I didn’t see much rain on my visor, but I was a second off the pace and wanted to stop in the pits to put on new tires, as I was confident I would be last. We ended up in sixth.’
Despite the qualifying result, Russell remains optimistic about his chances for the remainder of the Interlagos round: ‘The team did a great job and the car has been performing well here. We also know that here race pace is more important than single lap pace. We will still be aiming for the podium. Aston Martin was fast and will start ahead of us, but I hope our long-distance pace is better than theirs. I hope there are multiple pit stops during Sunday’s race, so everything is up for grabs. Let’s see how we perform throughout the rest of the weekend.’
