Russell felt “most pressure I’ve ever had in qualifying” before taking pole

George Russell says his pole lap in qualifying for the British Grand Prix was “one of the best feelings I’ve ever had driving Silverstone.”

The Mercedes driver secured his first pole at his home grand prix and the third pole position of his Formula 1 career, beating team mate Lewis Hamilton by a tenth of a second.

Russell will head an all-British top three on the grid ahead of Hamilton and Lando Norris in third. It will be the first Mercedes front row lock-out since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, Russell said he was thrilled by how good his Mercedes felt in the final phase of qualifying.

“This is definitely one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a Saturday afternoon,” Russell said. “The car was just insane. When we went out in Q3, it just really came alive. Without doubt, one of the best feelings I’ve ever had driving this circuit.”

Mercedes embarked on a major change in car design philosophy for the 2024 season following consecutive disappointing seasons in 2022 and 2023. Russell says the team are feeling the momentum generated by the early in-season upgrades.

“Crossing the line, seeing my name in P1 and then seeing we’re both on the front row, we couldn’t have even dreamt of that after the first three or four races,” he said. “So it feels good.

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“It’s been feeling great since Canada, when we brought these upgrades – the two of us have been qualifying in the top three consistently. But it really came into its own today.

“We were really quick in FP1 yesterday, we struggled in FP2 a little bit, but these conditions just really got the car into a perfect window. And the lap was just really, really nice.”

Russell even feared during qualifying he would be knocked out during the first two stages. “In Q3 we really turned it up because Q1 and Q2 was very, very challenging,” he said. “I felt like I was about to get knocked out at various points, the track [was] improving every single lap.

“Probably going into Q3 was the most pressure I’ve ever said in a qualifying session, because the whole Q1 and Q2 runs, it was like on the verge of getting knocked out every single occasion. I wasn’t feeling that confident with myself but as soon as I went through time one and two in Q3, I felt good and I managed to do the laps.”

Despite Mercedes’ sweep of the front row, Russell believes Norris and fourth-placed Max Verstappen pose significant threats for tomorrow’s race. “There’s no guarantees for tomorrow,” he said, “but we feel like we’re riding this wave at the moment.”

However, he is confident that Mercedes can fight them for the victory. “Realistically, we know we’re probably a tenth or two behind Lando and Max, but I think we’ve got a good fight on our hands,” said Russell.

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“The weather is going to play a huge part in that. It’s been raining and drying up throughout the last couple of days. There’s a bit of rain on the forecast tomorrow. We’re probably on course for another Montreal-style race where it’s going to be very changeable.

“So it’s going to be a long race. As I said, we’re riding this wave right now, but it doesn’t mean anything because tomorrow’s where the points are scored. But we’re obviously in a great position to fight for victory.”

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