George Russell was the best Mercedes driver in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix, achieving fourth place. He wasn’t far from the front row of the grid, but still wasn’t fully satisfied.
In a statement, the British driver explained his feelings about this outcome: ‘Before the weekend, we would have accepted fourth place in qualifying. That being said, after the performance in FP3 where we were the fastest in every lap, we only improved by six tenths from the last session to qualifying. Considering that track temperatures dropped and we had less fuel in the car, we didn’t extract as much as we should have. That was a bit disappointing’.
The podium is Russell’s goal for Sunday’s race, with second place in the Constructors’ Championship at stake for Mercedes: ‘I want to finish the season on a high, so my ultimate goal is to be on the podium and get the maximum points for the team in the constructors’ championship, so let’s see what tomorrow holds for us – we will aim for the best possible result. I’m excited for the last race of the season and although Lewis [Hamilton] had a difficult qualifying, I’m sure he will move up in the race’.
