Helmut Marko: George Russell's 2022 F1 Mexican GP qualifying performance would not have been 'enough for pole'

Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko feels that George Russell's lap would not have been enough for pole position.

The Mercedes driver was on a strong final lap but a mistake in the final sector ruined it for him. Before the mistake, George Russell had matched Max Verstappen at the end of sector 2.

Red Bull's advisor Helmut Marko, however, does not feel the pole position was ever in threat. According to his interaction with ServusTV, Marko felt that Verstappen had enough of a buffer in S3 to keep the pole position safe. he said:

"If Russell hits his last lap optimally, the gap would have been smaller but I don't think it would have been enough for pole."

Helmut Marko did, however, admit that it was close than Red Bull had thought with Mercedes, he said:

"It was closer than we thought. But we had the suspicion that Mercedes wasn't running with the same amount of fuel as we were. We didn't know exactly whether they were bluffing or not."

George Russell had topped FP3 and led a Mercedes 1-2 for his team. There were expectations that the German team could be a potent challenge for Red Bull.

Looking back at the qualifying, Marko admitted that the track was a bit tricky at the start of the session and was happy that Verstappen was able to stick everything together on the last lap. He said:

"It was difficult at the beginning of qualifying. The track was warmer at the beginning...Everyone slipped more than in the third practice session. You had to find a balance first. But it wasn't just us, the others had it too, as I saw it. Luckily we found the right warm-up option. Max did it perfectly except for sector two...We're satisfied. And now we have to implement it on Sunday."

George Russell reflects on his front-row qualifying session

George Russell was happy with his efforts as he qualified P2 for the 2022 F1 Mexican GP. Looking back at the session and the weekend so far, he said:

"The car has been feeling so good this weekend and even though I missed FP1, I was in just such a groove and my first run in quali that groove just disappeared but in Q3 on my first lap I went around the first three corners and the car felt great...Lost two tenths in one corner then gained all that back then I was 1 and a half tenths up before I locked up into sector 3. P2 is a great place to start."

He further added:

"I believe this weekend that we've had the fastest car, and when you have the fastest car there is no reason why you can't win the race. Max has done a great job today as he has consistently done - week in and week out. It will be hard to pass them [Red Bull]. They are 3 tenths faster on the straights. So, I think we can beat Red Bull but I think we can make the overtake on track. So, we need to be strategic."

With George Russell and Lewis Hamilton starting the race in P2 and P3, it will be interesting to see if they can mount a challenge against Max Verstappen in the race.