George Russell took pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, ahead of Sainz by just 98 thousandths.
A pole position almost ‘predicted’ for George Russell, who, after dominating the third free practice session, clinched pole for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, ahead of Sainz by 98 thousandths and a surprising Gasly. Mercedes had been on form since Thursday, at least in terms of single-lap pace, but for Russell, the pole was a surprise.
IThe British driver commented on the qualifying session: ‘We didn’t think we had this pace. We’re back on pole and have been competitive since the start of the weekend. I knew that the Q3 lap would be the one that counted, and it didn’t matter what we had done before. I was scared in my first attempt, and we had to change the front wing. I was worried I wouldn’t make it to the finish line in time. I’m happy, and the fact that we were fast is a nice surprise.’
The decision to go out last in the second Q3 attempt paid off: ‘I had confidence in myself, I knew that if I did a clean lap, it would be enough for the front row. Getting pole was incredible. Recently, I’ve been having good qualifying sessions, but we need to turn that into a victory.’
Photo: X Mercedes AMG F1 TEAM