George Russell expressed his frustration with the red flag incident during Q2, which prevented him from making two attempts with new tires in the final phase of qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. As the only remaining Mercedes driver in the fight for pole position, Russell ended up in eighth place for tomorrow’s race. He revealed that the interruption in the second phase forced him to abandon his initial lap in Q2 and use a used set later. Despite the setback, Russell remains optimistic about the race, acknowledging that anything can happen.
In a surprising turn of events, Russell managed to avoid missing out on the top 10 battle this time, after finishing 11th in the Sprint Qualifying. He took advantage of the new regulations that allow setup adjustments during Sprint weekends, making several changes to improve the balance of his W15. He hopes these adjustments will be beneficial in tomorrow’s race.
Although starting behind the two Ferrari cars, Russell believes that Mercedes’ main competition in the race will come from McLaren drivers and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin. He agrees with the assessment that Ferrari seems to have an advantage over the other teams chasing Red Bull. Russell anticipates a battle with McLaren and Alonso for a competitive race.
