George Russell will start third in the Las Vegas Formula 1 Grand Prix. In Saturday’s qualifying (Portuguese time), the Mercedes driver finished fourth, moving up one position on the grid due to a penalty imposed on the second-place driver, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
The British driver stated that he achieved the best possible and satisfactory result in qualifying: ‘I am very pleased with today’s qualifying. We were always there in the top four, but today the Ferraris were one step ahead of everyone. I think fourth place maximized what we had, and we were close to [Max] Verstappen in third. With Sainz’s penalty on the grid, I think third place is a good starting position’.
Regarding the race, Russell believes that tires will be a key aspect: ‘The race itself will be very challenging. I’m sure there will be a lot of graining for all teams in these cold conditions, but no one knows exactly how it will unfold. Maybe we’ll see multiple pit stops in tomorrow’s race, but whoever can keep the tires alive will be the big winner. We had some difficulties in long runs, and I think the Ferraris are faster than us, not only in a single lap but also in race pace. We will do our best to give [Charles] Leclerc a fight, and hopefully, the race will have some surprises’.
