George Russell's girlfriend Carmen Mundt reacts to the driver securing a spectacular front-row start for the 2025 F1 Chinese GP

George Russell's girlfriend Carmen Mundt dropped a blue heart while reacting to the Mercedes driver's terrific performance in the qualifying session of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. Russell put a flyer lap in Q3 to get a P2 start for the race on Sunday.

Mercedes had a promising start to the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix after Russell finished P4 in the sprint race held on Saturday, March 22, at the Shanghai International Circuit.

A couple of hours later, the qualifying session for the main race began, and the Silver Arrows continued to deliver brilliant performances. In Q3, Russell was lagging in the midfield. However, with Max Verstappen and two Ferrari drivers struggling to find the pace, he saw an opening and delivered a flying lap of 1:30.723 minutes to clinch a P2 finish.

Russell's gap to pole winner Oscar Piastri was just eight hundredths to a second. Moreover, the Mercedes driver managed to beat 2025 Australian Grand Prix winner Lando Norris, despite McLaren having the fastest car.

That being said, George Russell's terrific performance drew a special response from his girlfriend, Carmen Mundt. She shared a story on her Instagram handle and dropped a blue heart as a story caption.

Carmen Mundt's Instagram story [Image Source: @carmenmmundt/Instagram]

Russell has been dating Carmen for the last five years. They met through a common friend in London, UK, and have been together ever since. While Carmen was in the finance field after her graduation, she recently switched to content creation. Carmen has been extremely supportive of Russell and accompanies him to race weekends frequently.

Meanwhile, Russell became Mercedes' senior driver this season as Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari. In Australia, he secured a podium finish after crossing the checkered flag at P3. Now, with a front-row start in China, the Brit will aim to maximize the advantage on Sunday.

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George Russell surprised with P2 finish in 2025 Chinese GP qualifying

George Russell - Source: Getty

Mercedes garage was full of smiles on Saturday, March 22, as George Russell finished P2 in the qualifying session to get a front-row start for the Chinese GP. He beat McLaren's Lando Norris to get a step ahead in the starting grid position.

Meanwhile, in the post-qualifying interview, Russell admitted that he was surprised to get a front-row start. Talking to Crash.net, he said:

“It was really, really challenging because all weekend it's been difficult for everybody to get on top of these tires and knowing what the best strategy and the potential is to do if you go hard on your formation lap or you take it easy. I was just going all over the place, and on the last lap, I tried something very different; it worked. A really strong lap and P2 was a surprise. So really pleased with that one."

The Shanghai Circuit had been re-surfaced this year, and drivers have reported heavy tire degradation. However, George Russell's strategy seemed to have worked for him as he got a front-row start for the Chinese Grand Prix.