Breaking news
Formula 1 Sakhir GP
Russell "gutted" to miss out on Sakhir GP pole
George Russell felt "gutted" to narrowly miss out on his maiden Formula 1 pole position in qualifying for the Sakhir Grand Prix, finishing second behind Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Luke Smith
Edited: Dec 5, 2020, 8:03 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
In his first qualifying appearance for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's stand-in, Russell managed to qualify second, finishing just 0.026 seconds off the pole time.
It marked Russell's first appearance in Q3, having only previously qualified as high as 11th at this year's Styrian Grand Prix.
Russell said the race weekend had been "incredibly intense" as he got up to speed in the Mercedes W11 car, admitting that it felt "really alien" in his first outings.
"It is a really different way of driving, to be honest," said Russell. "I'm trying to unlearn what I learned at Williams, and relearn how to drive this car fast.
"I tried a lot of things in FP3 and it didn't go well so, to be honest, I'd have been happy just to get through to Q3 after final practice.
"But no, I'm really pleased. We got it pretty much all together on the final lap. Obviously gutted to miss out on pole by 20 milliseconds, but if you told me last week I'll be qualifying P2 on the grid next week, I think I wouldn't believe you."
It marked the first intra-team qualifying defeat of Russell's career, who had previously always beaten Williams teammates Robert Kubica and Nicholas Latifi on Saturdays.
But Russell was pleased by how close he got to Bottas, whose qualifying form has been impressive this year against pole record holder Hamilton.
"Valtteri has pushed Lewis a huge amount in qualifying over the years, I think statistically there's only been a tenth between them," Russell said.
"We all know how great Lewis so, just to be right behind Valtteri, coming in last minute, two days of prep I'm pleased, so let's see what we can do tomorrow."
Russell was conscious of the challenges he faced in the race on Sunday, having not started from so high up the grid or fought for a race win since F2 in 2018.
"I've got nobody in front of me tomorrow, which I've not experienced for a long, long time," Russell said.
"It's going to be really tricky. Qualifying is what I feel most comfortable with as it's just balls out everything you've got.
"Tomorrow, you need a bit more control, a bit more finesse, and I'm just haven't had experience yet. I will give it my all and see what I can do."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article 2020 F1 Sakhir Grand Prix qualifying results, full grid lineup
Next article Bottas says Sakhir Grand Prix qualifying "not my best"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
George Russell
Mercedes out of performance window at Mexico GP - George Russell
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
Mercedes out of performance window at Mexico GP - George Russell
George Russell tips Frederik Vesti for F1 2027 Cadillac seat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
6 h
George Russell tips Frederik Vesti for F1 2027 Cadillac seat
Latest news
NASCAR Cup Martinsville starting lineup: Denny Hamlin rockets to pole
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
20 min
NASCAR Cup Martinsville starting lineup: Denny Hamlin rockets to pole
Did Kyle Larson win the NASCAR Cup or has Denny Hamlin lost it?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
30 min
Did Kyle Larson win the NASCAR Cup or has Denny Hamlin lost it?
F1 Mexico GP: Lando Norris tops final practice by 0.001s from Kimi Antonelli
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
49 min
F1 Mexico GP: Lando Norris tops final practice by 0.001s from Kimi Antonelli
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe