Russell dominates Qualifying in Australia
Eight tenths: this is the superiority with which Mercedes begins the new era of F1, at least over a single lap. And capitalizing on it is first and foremost George Russell, a driver whose talent and consistency have always been appreciated, and who now seems to have his big chance to win the title.
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After years of chasing, the Briton now steps into the role of favorite. And so he plays defensively, saying he is surprised not so much by the pole position in the Australian GP as by the gap to Isack Hadjar’s third place.
Russell’s words
“I expected pole position, yes, but not with this gap“, this was his comment to Sky Sport F1. “However, our main rivals were missing, Verstappen wasn’t there and we expected him to be the one closest to us this weekend. If we look at the difference he usually makes compared to his teammates, it was predictable that he would be in the fight, so I think today was a perfect storm“.
“I am very happy, the car felt great. The engine went great, but it is very demanding to manage everything. I also had some problems here and there, there are still concerns about reliability. It wasn’t all straightforward and this is the main concern for tomorrow: we must try to finish the race“.
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