Chinese GP: Russell ecstatic after securing pole in sprint qualifying
What's the story
George Russell, the British racing driver for Mercedes, has expressed his delight at securing pole position in the Sprint Qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix. The 28-year-old described his performance as a joy to drive and is confident that Mercedes has made strides in improving their race starts. He clocked a blistering lap time of 1m 31.520s, leaving teammate Kimi Antonelli nearly three-tenths behind.
Fan appreciation
'Joy to drive' - Russell on his Mercedes car
Upon securing pole position, Russell thanked the Chinese fans for their incredible support. "Firstly hello to all the fans in China. There's been amazing support for everybody here, it's special to be back," he said after the race. The British driver also praised his car's performance, saying it felt "amazing" and was a real joy to drive. He was eager to compare his lap times with those from last year as it felt really quick this time around.
Start strategy
Mercedes worked hard to improve race starts
Despite a strong performance in qualifying at the previous race in Melbourne, both Mercedes cars struggled to match the launch speed of Scuderia Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton during the race. Ahead of the Sprint in Shanghai, Russell acknowledged that Mercedes has been working hard to improve their starts. He said, "Since Melbourne, everything we've been working [on] is just trying to get off the line better."
Team dynamics
Antonelli praises George, admits he could have done better
On his part, Antonelli also acknowledged the strong pace of the car during Sprint qualifying but admitted that he could have done better with his lap at the end of the session. He said the pace was very strong, that he hadn't put the lap together at the end on the softs, and that there was still work to do, but he congratulated George.
Information
Key details of the sprint qualifying
Russell went 0.289 seconds clear of the his teammate and a massive 0.621 secs ahead of the first current world champion Lando Norris of McLaren. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was fourth for Ferrari, just 0.02 secs slower than Norris. McLaren's Oscar Piastri took fifth place ahead of the second Charles Leclerc.