George Russell has revealed a front wing change almost cost him the chance to attempt the lap that saw him take pole position for Formula 1‘s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Mercedes completed a clean sweep in practice at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, with Russell capitalising on the team’s resurgence to storm to his third pole this season.
The Briton, who topped the last practice session, held provisional pole with his opening run in Q3, but several drivers then toppled his benchmark on their second laps.
However, Russell managed to improve at the death to usurp Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, although he has disclosed that he was concerned he wouldn’t even get that chance.
Russell had touched the barrier on his initial attempt and a replacement front wing on his W15 saw him fret that he wouldn’t return to the track in time to begin his lap.
“Yeah, incredibly satisfying, and especially knowing the car’s been so quick all weekend,” Russell told media including Motorsport Week.
“As a team, we’ve topped every single session. And nevertheless, when you get to Q3, you know what’s happened beforehand has no influence whatsoever.
“So the pressure kind of is ramped up. And, you know, it was a little bit touch and go for a moment because we had to change the front wing.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to get the last lap. But then it was a super strong lap, especially the first two sectors, and just really, really pleased to secure the pole.”
Russell was heard telling his race engineer on the team radio that he wanted to go out as late as possible on his last run to capitalise on the evolving track conditions.
Asked how much the surface ramped up in the closing session, Russell replied: “Massively.
“I think probably between the very first car and the very last car who does their lap, it’s probably over a tenth.
“It’s probably the biggest track ramp of the whole season. So I wanted to put it all on the line.
“And, you know, it’s high risk. I knew that if there were no yellow flags, then we would, you know, we had the possibility to be on the front row.
“But ultimately, as well, I want to say thanks to the guys in the garage to get the front wing change so quick as well,
because, as I said, I touched the wall in the first run and we could have missed that last run altogether.”
Russell urges Mercedes to understand surprise pace
Mercedes’ renewed pace has come as a surprise based on the recent struggles that have seen the German marque register a single podium over the past eight races.
Russell has expressed that Mercedes must bid to understand the reason behind the side’s sudden upswing in competitiveness that has left him “scratching his head”.
“To be honest, it’s been a real surprise for all of us,” he admitted.
“It’s something we need to really review because this is an outlier circuit.
“We haven’t done anything out of the ordinary specifically for Vegas, but for whatever reason, the conditions, the layout, is playing in our favour.
“And I’m kind of scratching my head as to why. You know, we will ride with it for the time being.
“But as I said, if you’re quick in Vegas, it’s a bit of a one-off circuit. So we need to understand it.
“And of course, one of our other poles was in Canada as well, which is very cold, street circuit-esque conditions too, so there’s a small trend.”
Asked whether he would attribute Mercedes’ turnaround to the low track temperatures, Russell responded: “No, to be honest. No, I think there’s been no secret.
“We’ve been struggling with a bit of understeer this season and the track in Vegas, you’re sliding around quite a lot, and maybe that’s been a small factor that the understeer limitation has been less noticeable here.
“But there are certain corners where this car is performing so well, and especially in the first sector, the car feels absolutely on rails, especially through the third corner.
“And as I said, we need to nail down after the weekend and maybe even into the winter why it’s been working so good.”
READ MORE – George Russell beats Carlos Sainz to Las Vegas F1 pole position
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