George Russell admits he was significantly shocked for Mercedes to be so quick on the Las Vegas Grand Prix after securing pole place.
Mercedes topped all three observe periods, with Lewis Hamilton quickest on Thursday earlier than Russell hit the entrance for FP3. Having set the quickest time on the primary runs in Q3, Russell wanted a entrance wing change after brushing the wall, however nonetheless emerged because the final automotive on monitor to regain pole place for the primary time for the reason that British Grand Prix.
“Actually, completely not (anticipated),” Russell mentioned. “It feels unbelievable to be again on pole. We’ve been so fast all weekend, and I simply knew coming into that final Q3 lap, that’s going to be the one which counts.
“It doesn’t matter what’s occurred earlier than then. I had a little bit of a second on my first run, and we needed to change the entrance wing. So there was a second I assumed we weren’t going to make the flag. However simply so glad, and we’ve received to do some deep diving to grasp why it’s been so fast thus far this weekend as a result of it was an actual shock.
“In the end, you’ve received to place it on the desk generally, and I felt assured in myself. I knew if I did a clear lap it could be sufficient to safe a entrance row. So to get pole place, it’s unbelievable, however in the end we’ve had a number of good qualifyings just lately. We have to convert that right into a win now.”
Whereas Russell — who additionally revealed he slept for 45 minutes earlier than qualifying — is not sure what the catalyst for Mercedes’ kind is, he says the race options quite a lot of unknown points in the case of tire efficiency.
“I believe the long term for everyone has been very difficult on the medium and the mushy. There’s plenty of graining,” he famous. “We noticed the identical final 12 months, however I count on the laborious tire to be very resilient. However not one single driver has run the laborious tire as but this entire weekend. So that you’re going to be studying on the fly.
“It’s going to be in all probability surviving that first stint and going from there. However right here in Vegas, something can occur. It’s a protracted race. There was a well timed security automotive for quite a lot of folks final 12 months, and we additionally noticed that final race in Brazil. So, proper now I’m very glad, very happy, however I’m not taking something with no consideration going into tomorrow.”
