F1 News
Russell praises Hamilton and Verstappen but: 'We've got a shot tomorrow'
George Russell's best effort in sprint qualifying in China was only good enough for P5, however, his time was a little over two tenths slower than polesitter, Lewis Hamilton. Speaking after the session, the Mercedes driver does confess, he thinks he can do great things in the sprint race.
"Pretty happy with the lap in SQ3. Well done to Lewis. That was a pretty great lap," said the Briton praising Hamilton's efforts that earned him pole for the sprint race on Saturday, as well as the track record around the Shanghai International Circuit.
Throughout the session the teams' performances seem to swing from one to the other, with Russell nearly getting caught out at the dying moments of SQ2. "I think P5 was where we were today. It was strange, in SQ2 at one moment I was outside the top 10, the next I jumped up to P2, and it didn’t feel any different, to be honest," said Russell.
Russell smells a win in the sprint
"I think it can just go any way between the top couple of teams. It was a bit of a surprise with McLaren because they were flying in practice, flying in SQ1 and SQ2 but then at the end, Lewis and Max [Verstappen] did a good job," continued the Mercedes driver praising his former teammate, and his Red Bull Racing rival, Max Verstappen.
Russell thinkis he and his W16 are capable of pulling off the upset and taking the sprint win starting from P5. "We were right behind them as well. I think we’ve got a shot in the Sprint. It could be an interesting race," concluded the Briton.