That pole position was there for the taking, and George Russell knows it. A bittersweet Qualifying session in Sao Paulo left the Mercedes driver fighting a wave of frustration after a collective misjudgement cut short a lap that he is certain would have been good enough for pole. It was a brutal pill to swallow, coming nearly a week after he lost out on the Drivers' Championship to his team mate Kimi Antonelli.
Torrential rain turned Interlagos into a massive test of nerve, but Russell handled the beast brilliantly. He was right there at the sharp end of the timesheets when the weather took a turn for the worse immediately following the first Q3 runs. Believing they had another sixty seconds of dry running left, Mercedes instructed Russell to back off behind Alex Albon. Unfortunately, the team guessed wrong. That aborted effort proved fatal, as his pace up to that point was already faster than polesitter Lando Norris.
[It was] very difficult trying to understand this track in the wet,
"Pole was ours for the taking there. It was just a misjudgement from us collectively as a team to abort my second lap," Russell explained. "We thought we'd get another 60s without the rain – unfortunately, we got that wrong. That was a pole lap, I think. I got a bit held up by Albon, but it still would've been good enough for the pole."
Even with the sting of missed glory, the performance reminded him of his own capability behind the wheel. "It's going to be tricky, but it gives me confidence. It reminds me again that I've not forgotten how to drive, and I think that's important in circumstances like these that I found myself in," he said. Sadly, the pain of the afternoon encapsulated his entire campaign, adding, "It would've meant a lot to me to have clinched the pole with a great performance, like we showed in Qualifying. I think it kind of sums up this season. As a team, we've got one goal this weekend and that's to seal the Constructors'. This season's just very much not meant to be."
Things are further complicated by a five-place grid penalty that will drop Russell down to P7. Still, Mercedes remains on track to secure the three extra points they need to beat Ferrari to the Teams' Championship. That mission is helped immensely by Antonelli lining up on the front row.
The young Italian admitted he lacked Russell's comfort in the treacherous conditions, finishing 0.625s adrift of Norris' benchmark. But starting P2 gives him a prime shot at a tenth Grand Prix victory.
"[It was] very difficult trying to understand this track in the wet," Antonelli admitted. "It was [my] first time around here in the wet, and it just was not easy. Very slippery but I think in Q3 there was a lot more. I just made two big mistakes during the lap and that cost us the chance for a better position."
"I'm looking forward to [the race] if it's wet," he added. "Obviously I have a lot more experience now with the car, so if it's wet it's going to be fun, but if it's dry we're going to do our best. I think overall there's been big learning this session. Not how I wanted it to go, but still decent."
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