Mercedes: Russell “could have fought for pole” without a compromised warm-up lap
Standing in for team principal Toto Wolff this weekend, Mercedes team representative Bradley Lord rued the warm-up lap that compromised Russell’s chances on his final flying lap.
In final practice, George Russell complained about the setup of his W16, and he looked to struggle for one-lap performance. However, the Briton appeared to be more comfortable in his car in qualifying, and he did enough to make Q3 without taking any risks.
Replicating what Aston Martin did in Q2, Mercedes sent Russell out on a set of mediums in the final qualifying segment, and it worked a treat as he jumped the McLaren of Norris into P3.
His team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished at the lower end of the leaderboard on Friday, but he finally found his mojo in final practice. However, the Bologna-born driver struggled to get the best out of the C6 tyre, exiting in Q2 at his home track, and he will start today’s Imola round from P13 on the grid.
Standing in for team principal Toto Wolff this weekend, Mercedes team representative Bradley Lord rued the warm-up lap that compromised Russell’s chances on his final flying lap.
"We have mixed feelings after today's qualifying session. George delivered a smooth session and a really impressive final lap on the Medium tyre to take P3; without a compromised outlap, and therefore cool tyres in the opening corners, he could have fought for pole.
“We went into qualifying thinking that the Medium was a possible Q3 tyre, and the Aston Martins' performance in Q2 confirmed it was the way to go, with George using it to great effect.”
As for home favourite Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Lord insisted that the Italian was losing some time on the straights due to a higher downforce setup, but the main issue was the lack of grip on the C6 rubber.
"It was a more challenging session for Kimi. He never felt the grip he wanted from the tyres and was also losing a little on the straights owing to a slightly higher downforce setup than George - but not seeing the expected gains in the corners.
“It was a tough pill for him to swallow to qualify P13 at his first home race, but we always say that these difficult moments are the ones where we learn the most, and no doubt that will be true for Kimi today as well; this is all part of the learning curve in his first season. The silver lining is that his race pace was very strong in FP2, so we can expect him to gain positions from where he is starting.
"Imola is traditionally a one-stop race, owing to the significant pitlane loss, but the softer tyre compounds this year mean that isn't a certainty in tomorrow's race.
“We will be running the simulations this evening to see where we have opportunities to move forward tomorrow, and the race will be a good gauge of how much progress we have made in managing the tyre temperatures on the long runs."
