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While being satisfied with the P6 he secured in Saturday's qualifying session, George Russell admitted that he expected to do better. Especially, after it seemed as though Mercedes had resolved its porpoising issue. The Briton revealed that he had started one of his qualifying laps in the wrong engine mode and was unable to improve his lap time due to the session being red-flagged.
Speaking after the qualifying session of the Monaco GP, the Mercedes driver said:
“I think if you had told me P6 before the weekend, I wouldn’t have been overly pleased. But I think my lap was really strong, probably one of the strongest laps I’ve done in qualifying all year. Obviously I’m a little bit disappointed the pace wasn’t a bit better. We know we didn’t bring anything new to the car this weekend, when we knew inherently it probably wouldn’t suit our car. You’ve got to take the positives, but we’re here for more.”
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After Mercedes' improved pace and performance at the Spanish GP last weekend, the 24-year-old driver admitted that he expected more in Monaco. However, George Russell revealed that the team had not made any improvements to its package ahead of the Monaco GP, knowing that the circuit did not suit the W13.
He claimed that while he normally would not celebrate a P6, his qualifying lap in Monaco was one of his best this year.
Explaining his session further, the Mercedes driver said:
“The red flags cost me my final lap, but I don’t think it was going to be much different to how it turned out anyway. In hindsight, I needed to get lap one on the tyres and I didn’t, after starting the lap in the wrong engine mode. But Monaco is just like that, and it was an unfortunate session. The car feels pretty bad out there and we’re having to take some big risks to get anywhere near the times of the cars in front.”
Despite the German team's woes this season, Russell currently stands fourth in the Driver Standings due to his consistency.
George Russell believes Mercedes was going to be off-pace despite the improvements made after Friday
George Russell feels the car is still far off from the front runners'. Lamenting the loss of lap time around the Circuit de Monaco, he believes that Mercedes still needs to make progress in order to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari.
Commenting on the pace of the car in Monaco, he said:
“We improved the car from yesterday and got a little bit closer, but even with a perfect lap I think we’d still be six-tenths off, which is a decent chunk. Now we need to see what the weather does tomorrow and try to make some progress up the field.”
George Russell picked up a second podium for Mercedes last weekend in Spain. However, the pace of the W13 might just compromise his ability to score another top-five finish in Monaco.
