"We're not here to be battling for P5 or P6" - George Russell calls it a bit of a shame' after disappointing qualifying session for Mercedes at the 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Mercedes driver George Russell is disappointed with his P6 finish in the qualifying session of the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. His teammate and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to make it into Q2, shocking the entire F1 fraternity.

The 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying session was full of unusual twists and turns. Seven-time world champion and 2021 pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton failed to take his car into Q2 for the first time since Brazil 2017, proving once again that the Briton is not yet comfortable in his Mercedes W13.

Meanwhile, teammate George Russell barely managed to get himself into Q3, finishing right on the cusp in 10th place.

When asked if he was happy to make it into the third round of qualifying, the Briton said the team is not here to fight for P5 or P6 finishes. He continued:

"Not really. We are not here to be battling for P5,P6. As a team, it was a very difficult day. The car was really on a knife's edge and getting it in the right window is so difficult. Lewis and I went down on different sets of routes and clearly it didn't work out."

"As a team, it is a bit of a shame. From my personal side, I would have definitely been pleased with P5, half a tenth away. It was possible if I put absolutely everything together. But that's just where we are at the moment".

---

George Russell claims Mercedes' issues are exactly as they were in Bahrain

The former Williams driver claims the team is still plagued with immense porpoising issues all the way back from the pre-season testing period in Barcelona. The Mercedes CTO ruled out there being an engine output issue, claiming that aerodynamic choices were the cause of the team's low straight-line speed in Bahrain.

Speaking about the bulk of the issues faced, George Russell said:

"It is exactly the same issue we have seen since day one. We have the porpoising issue. The only way to run is to raise the car very high. And obviously with this ground-effect car, we lose all of the downforce."

"We know that if we can get the car on the ground there is a huge chunk of laptime there but we can't achieve that at the moment".

With Lewis Hamilton starting P16 on the grid on Sunday and Russell in P6, the team is trying to remain hopeful of a solid points finish during the main race.