"The car felt completely different today" - George Russell claims Mercedes is 'a bit confused' after Q2 elimination at 2022 F1 Miami GP

George Russell claims Mercedes is a 'bit confused' after his unexpected Q2 elimination at the 2022 F1 Miami GP. The Briton had a woeful qualifying session and was unable to control his W13 despite having topped the charts in FP2.

Mercedes seemed to have turned a new corner on Friday when both drivers comfortably placed themselves in the top five. The cars also looked more stable than ever before - without suffering from too much porpoising. Russell topped the time charts in FP2, showcasing his immense driving talent, despite being up against the likes of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. In Saturday's qualifying session, however, the Briton was eliminated in Q2 after failing to find pace in his W13, which is now back to bouncing around like earlier.

George Russell expressed his confusion after the session, saying:

“We are a bit confused to be honest. My qualifying lap then was slower than what I did yesterday in P2. The car felt completely different today, we were struggling with porpoising and we just couldn’t attack any of the corners. It is a real shame because there was the potential in there and yesterday we were quick so it has massively gone away from us today and I don’t really know why. It has just been a bit inconsistent to be honest.”

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George Russell couldn't 'attack' braking zones due to porpoising

George Russell was unable to put find confidence in his bouncing W13 under braking, resulting in a huge loss of performance. The Briton claimed the bouncing was affecting him throughout the super-fast and flowing first sector, ruining his chances of putting up a good time on the board.

Russell told the media after the session:

“We thought we went pretty conservative with the set-up to make sure we avoided any porpoising, but it seemed just as bad as we saw this morning in P3. It was going all the way through the corners in Turn 4 and Turn 5 so you just couldn’t attack into the braking zones so it is not making a lot of sense at the moment. When we get it into the window it is fast but I am just a bit disappointed for myself and for the team, I think the potential is there.”

Meanwhile, Russell's teammate Lewis Hamilton fared much better than the young driver. The seven-time world champion was able to find decent pace in his W13 which didn't seem to be bouncing around as much. Hamilton will start in P6 on Sunday and will be ready to attack the front runners at any given opportunity.