George Russell was left reeling after missing out on pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a “miscommunication” saw him abort his final flying lap.
The Brit was in need of a pick-me-up after losing the title to teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli last week in Mexico, and his performance in the treacherous rain on Saturday proved to be the tonic.
Russell looked almost unassailable in the W17, as it navigated the dank, damp and notoriously tricky Interlagos circuit with more fluidity than its rivals.
Looking so strong in Qs 1 and 2, Russell was aware that a prior grid penalty would see him drop five places, but looked favourite to take pole.
But after setting one quick lap, he began to approach the Williams of Alex Albon, and as a result, was told to abort that lap. But the rain intensified, robbing him a chance to set another lap, handing pole to McLaren’s Landn Norris.
This incurred the wrath of Russell, who said over radio: “Mate, you f***ing told me to back off! What the hell?!”
When Team Principal Toto Wolff tried to placate Russell by telling him he was P2, Russell replied: “But I don’t want to be P2. I want to be P1. That was a P1 lap.”
Speaking after qualifying, Russell, still upset although calmer, said he needed to sit down with the Silver Arrows’ engineers to determine what went wrong.
“Yeah, I think it was just a bit of miscommunication,” he said. “I need to speak with the team because we believed we’d get another lap before the rain came in.
“So, I was on a really strong lap and I was asked to back off because I caught up with Albon, and then obviously the rain came. So yeah, it was very disappointing.
“Need to understand how it happened and why we got that wrong. But I felt very strong the whole session.
“Similar to Lando, I had more confidence in the wet than I had in the dry. But yeah, definitely felt pole was there for the taking.”
George Russell praying for rain
Russell has appeared to be suffering a crisis of confidence this season, and there is no doubt that the best of his driving was on show on Saturday.
It is no surprise, therefore, that he is hopeful of the rain continuing into race day, feeling he has a “greater chance” of victory in that case.
“You know, I felt really confident in the rain,” he said. “I think my pace, along with Lando’s, was by far the best out there.
“I’m not sure who the drivers are going to be between Kimi and myself. We don’t have the normal suspects there, so that may make it slightly easier.
“But in the rain here, it’s always a challenge. I hope it is wet tomorrow. I feel I’ve got a greater chance if it’s wet.
“But, you know, Lando and I had a race here two years ago when we were one and two, and unfortunate timing of the VSC, and we were off the podium.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris reveals ‘pretty quick’ McLaren lesson en route to Sao Paulo pole
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