“It’s the high-pressure stakes of qualifying”- George Russell explains the reason behind his nickname ‘Mr Saturday’

George Russell has garnered the reputation of being a one-lap specialist and has gained himself the nickname of ‘Mr Saturday.’

George Russell who has made the step up to Mercedes from Williams said that he loves the pressure of racing in qualifying. Over the past three years, he has garnered the reputation of placing the Williams team up in the grid.

The British driver told Crash.net, “It’s the high-pressure stakes of qualifying; you go out there, you’ve got one lap to do the business, the pressure is on and the world’s watching.”

“It just excites me and I thrive on that pressure to go out there and deliver. I think for a lot of drivers, it’s the most exciting part of the weekend. It’s when your car is at its fastest and when everything is on the line.

Did you know @GeogreRussell63’s racing idol is an ex-@MercedesAMGF1 driver? 😮

We knew he had good taste 💙

Come find out about that and more as we continue to #GetToKnowGeorge 🤩#OutRaceYourself #GR63 pic.twitter.com/CsCYYXuiOj

— PETRONAS Motorsports (@PET_Motorsports) February 5, 2022

“It’s like a sprint, [with] the race being more of a marathon, managing it to the end. You can’t sprint every lap of a race because you’d be burned out, you’d tire the engine and the brakes.

“But qualifying – you are not holding anything back, you are unleashing everything and that’s what I enjoy.”

Also Read: Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko takes a dig at George Russell and his performances in 2021

George Russell thinks qualifying rewards the naturally quickest drivers

Russell will be driving next to Lewis Hamilton for the 2022 season. Russell believes that the qualifying race rewards the naturally quickest drivers. He thinks that a driver cannot explore how to unlock more pace during their career.

Instead, Russell believes unlocking speed comes from knowledge and experience, rather than natural talent.

“I think, as a driver, your natural speed probably doesn’t improve much from the age of 16, 17 to the rest of your career,” he said.

“You become faster because you learn how to work with the team better, how to get more out of your car, from the technical aspects, [asking], ‘How do I get my tyres working in a better window to make them go faster on track?’

“These are all things you obviously learn with experience and I think I’ve progressed a huge amount.”

“I am definitely a faster driver today than I was three years ago. Not from my natural ability, but more from the things you learn technically along the way.”

Also Read: George Russell teases a return to the silver color scheme for the 2022 Mercedes car