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George Russell expressed his disappointment after not making it into Q3 of the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying session.
Russell was unable to get a decently fast lap during the last stages of Q2. He gradually got demoted from P9 to the elimination zone as Oscar Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda improved their lap times and jumped ahead of him.
Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Russell explained how Mercedes were not fast enough and despite giving absolutely everything, he was unable to get a decent lap time. He said:
"Well, I mean, we are not fast enough this weekend. Obviously, I would have loved to be in Q3, but I was giving everything, the lap was strong, I made a mistake. My last one may have just crept me in to Q3, but I don't think we would been able to qualify on that tire."
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Speaking about the highs and lows of the sport, Russell added:
"It's a funny sport this one, sometimes going from qualifying on the front row last week to you know both of us well myself out and Lewis just getting in with P10."
The 25-year-old will start the main race on Sunday, April 30, from P11, while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, will start from P5.
George Russell positive about fighting back on Sunday in the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP
Although George Russell had his worst qualifying session of the 2023 F1 season at the Azerbaijan GP, he was confident of fighting back in the race.
Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Briton said:
"I think right now we wouldn’t really know what to change to find the pace we need around this track. It’s definitely a unique one, definitely an outlier, compared to the first three races we’ve been to. Of all the tracks to have a bad qualifying, this is probably the one, or one of the ones, you’d choose to do it, so I see no reason why we can’t fight back on Sunday. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow."
Mercedes drivers Russell and Lewis Hamilton will be aiming to find every last bit of pace on Saturday and pick up a few points from the sprint race, ahead of the main race.
