The Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying red flags were raised after George Russell’s spin in Q3. The Mercedes racer will nonetheless begin Saturday’s Sprint race from position three on the starting grid.
After spinning during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, George Russell confesses that his decision to try to get back on the racetrack was not the “wisest choice.”
Russell flipped off the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace into the gravel with eight minutes remaining in Q3 at Turn 4. His Mercedes ended up beached after he tried a 360 in an effort to return to the track.
Nobody was capable of improving their lap time from the earlier part of the session since the accident brought out a red flag, and by the time the session resumed, it had started to rain.
Russell was able to maintain P3 as a result, and Kevin Magnussen surprised everyone by winning the pole position for the Sprint race on Saturday.
Russell with the “mixed emotions” of the session
“I think [there were] probably more mixed emotions [for me] because we were obviously one of the last cars to go out in qualifying,” Russell explained after the session.
“It was such a unique experience because, as the lap progressed, the rain was just falling harder and harder.
“In the last corner, it was a lot wetter than it was on the lap before, so you had to be really tentative.”
Russell considers his experience and admits that his efforts to get better were unsuccessful.
“I’ve broken the headrest because my head was banging so much,” the Briton said.
“It was a pretty unpleasant experience. I lost the rear, I booted it; I wanted to do a 360, and then did the rears in the gravel, so probably not the wisest choice I ever made!”
Russell hopes the car is undamaged
Russell was confident that the spin wouldn’t harm his W13 in any way.
“There should be no damage,” he commented.
“I’m always a bit tentative when it’s been lifted onto the tow truck and there’s a lot of gravel, so the guys are going to have to take the car to pieces just to make sure we’ve got all the gravel out, but it should be okay.”
Russell expressed admiration for pole-sitter Magnussen while remaining optimistic about what he can accomplish in Saturday’s Sprint from third on the starting grid.
“Massive congrats to Kevin and Haas – this is what Formula 1 and sport is about, to have some crazy results like this,” the Silver Arrows driver said.
“But for us, P3 [is a] good place to start for the Sprint.”
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