Russell Expecting Close Battle Between 'Everybody Other Than Verstappen'
F1
George Russell discussed Mercedes' position after scoring P3 in the qualifying session ahead of the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix.
George Russell scored a P3 after a challenging qualifying session at Bahrain International Circuit. The Mercedes F1 driver finished 0,077 seconds behind Charles Leclerc in the second place and 0,305 behind Max Verstappen.
While lacking 3 tenths on the Dutchman on the pole still seems like quite a margin, Mercedes is in a much better position than it was throughout the last two years. Russell said:
"Ultimately, Max is still out there in front; we have still got some catching up to do. When we look at our qualifying performances the last two years in Bahrain and our race pace, starting P3 is a great place."
Russell also outperformed his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who will be starting the race from P9 after choosing a more race-focused car setup, which lost him some time in qualifying.
Mercedes struggled with car balance during the pre-season testing, asked how the team turned it around, the 25-year-old responded:
"A huge amount of work, we have had some great drivers back at the base doing the work on the simulator. Me and Lewis have been back on the simulator as well, fine-tuning the set-up and making some improvements."
The first qualifying session of the season showed us there is a lot to look forward to, not only in terms of races but also in terms of qualifications.
The first six drivers were all within 4 tenths of a second; the smallest mistake would result in a drop of a few places on the grid. Ultimately, Mercedes might not have had the best qualifying car, but what is clear is that Russell put together a very solid lap when it mattered.
It seems we can also expect a very close fight during the race on Saturday, but Russell asserted it won't be the fight for the race win as he expects Verstappen to disappear into the distance. He added:
"Time will tell, we have obviously made a big step forward on single-lap qualifying pace, we hope we haven't compromised the race pace at all, I think it'll be a close fight between everybody other than Max."
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