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George Russell, who qualified sixth at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix on Saturday, claims he was taken aback by McLaren's pace during the session. This was the first time in 2022 that both McLarens made it to Q3, with Lando Norris managing to take himself up to the second row, ahead of both Mercedes cars.
In a post-qualifying press interaction, the Briton reflected on the session and shared his expectations from the main race on Sunday. He said:
“I mean it’s a bit of a surprise to get pipped by one of the McLarens, and they are seemingly very fast this weekend. Definitely on low fuel, I think we should be quicker than them.”
He then went on to detail his troubles, saying:
“I think we are still learning, still trying to understand the car. Wasn’t perfect out there; it’s bouncing around a lot and that was limiting into the fast corners, and that’s where I lost all my lap times. But I think P5, P6, we would have taken prior to the session.”
Mercedes is used to fighting at the front of the pack. It has, however, certainly struggled to make it as high as third in the qualifying sessions so far in 2022.
"We know what we need to work on" - George Russell on Mercedes' struggles
In his first year with the Silver Arrows, George Russell has been doing his best to extract potential from his Mercedes that does not seem to be competing at the level that they have been used to over the years. The Briton claimed that the team is aware of exactly everything the car is lacking and is actively working towards developing it over the course of the season.
The Briton revealed his understanding of the struggles the team is currently facing by saying:
“We’re not here scratching our heads, not understanding why we’re off the pace. We absolutely know why we’re off the pace, and we know what we need to work on to improve that, and having that knowledge, having that understanding of what the issues are, and having the belief that we can solve it is quite an exciting place to be, because it gives us all something to go at.”
Both Mercedes cars will start in the third row at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, behind pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and both Red Bulls.
