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In a dramatic qualifying session ahead of the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, George Russell set the third-fastest lap time before bringing out the red flag after losing control of his Mercedes and driving right into the gravel.
By the time the red flag came to an end, with under nine minutes remaining in the session, the rain made it impossible for any driver to improve his lap-time, allowing the Briton to secure P3 ahead of Saturday's Sprint race.
In a post-qualifying media interaction, George Russell was optimistic about Mercedes' chances of potentially beating Max Verstappen this weekend, given the tricky weather conditions in Sao Paulo. Russell said:
"Firstly, happy to be P3 and congrats to Kevin. What an awesome job he did and Haas, they truly deserve it for all the efforts they have been putting in."
George further said:
"P3, not necessarily where we wanted to be but a very good place to be starting for tomorrow's sprint race. I think it is our best shot at finishing ahead of Max and Red Bull if there are some mixed conditions. I think we are ready for a good couple of races."
An early end to Q3 meant that Kevin Magnussen was able to convert his provisional pole to his career-first pole position this afternoon at Interlagos
George Russell believed it would be unrealistic to beat Red Bull in a race this season
Despite having dominated Formula 1 for eight consecutive years, Mercedes have been in a tough position in the 2022 season.
The Silver Arrows have been unable to secure a single win this year and George Russell earlier claimed that it would be unrealistic to think that the team could possibly beat Red Bull in the final two races of the season.
Speaking to Sky Sports, George Russell said:
"We've shown between these two race weekends [in the United States and Mexico], there was quite a fluctuation in performance. I feel like we probably had the fastest car this weekend [in Mexico] and, had we been on the same strategy as Red Bull, we probably could have fought with them."
Russell continued:
"Probably Brazil will be halfway between the two [levels of performance]. Realistically, it's going to probably be quite difficult to finish ahead of Red Bull at any races this year. But Ferrari, I think we definitely can beat."
As per the BBC, the Briton remains optimistic about Mercedes' chances of fighting for the world championship once again next season. He said:
"The mindset now is we can definitely fight for the championship next year. If we hit our targets over the winter, we will be in a really competitive place. And even if we don’t start off with the fastest car, I am very confident we will have a car that is a lot closer than this year."
George Russell further stated:
"You are seeing now how we are managing to close the gap pretty rapidly. It is definitely exciting going into next year and I think there will be a huge amount of motivation within the team. You can see that progress, we all feel it within.”
George Russell currently stands fourth in the drivers' standings with 231 points to his name this season.
