Mercedes’ George Russell felt he had a shot at pole position during Saturday’s Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix qualifying at Zandvoort but that all changed in the Q3 top-10 shootout.
Russell came into Q3 having set the third-fastest time in the interim Q2 session, just 0.056s back from McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Moving into the final segment of Saturday’s qualifying, Russell found himself in fourth, over half a second down on Norris’ pole time.
After fearing an early exit was on the cars in Q1, from feeling confident at a pole opportunity in Q2, the final portion of qualifying proved Russell’s Saturday was an eventful one.
“I mean it was just a relief to get through Q1 in all honesty, but it’s always surprising how quickly the fortunes shift,” Russell told media including Motorsport Week after quali.
“In Q2, my lap felt half decent and I was the same pace as the McLaren so I went into Q3 thinking I had a shot at pole and then the pace didn’t really come.
“But we’re doing a great job bringing performance to the car and we’re clearly catching Red Bull, clearly pulling away from the midfield, but McLaren are improving at the same rate as us.”
Russell rued issues with his tryes during his final Q3 run that ultimately cost him his shot at pole.
“I was on a really strong lap, I was matching Lando I think, I was two and a half tenths up on myself, tyres overheating and I just lost more performance than I expected in the last half of the lap,” he said.
“[I’m] not too concerned. I think P4 is a strong place to start and I think we’ll be closer tomorrow.”
Mercedes vaulted itself into contention ahead of the summer break, winning three of the last four races, but Norris’ margin over the rest of the field in qualifying could put a halt on that run.
Still, Russell’s best effort on Saturday in Q3 was just two-tenths shy of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who will share the front row of Sunday’s grid with Norris.
With that in mind, Russell believes that he is in contention for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but predicts a tight contest.
“I expect a good fight with the McLarens,” he said.
“I do think it’s fair to say they’ve still been the quickest in the last couple of races, even in Spa I think [Oscar] Piastri was probably the fastest car out there, so yeah realistically maybe half a tenth, a tenth behind McLaren or Red Bull.
“But as we see when you get the strategy right and you make a good start that can all change very quickly.”
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