George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were delighted with Mercedes’s pace during the Qualifying session of the 2023 Australian GP. The Mercedes duo qualified P2 and P3 respectively putting in their best Saturday performance of the season so far.
Both Russell and Hamilton were frustrated with the W14’s handling and pace in the first two races. But the Silver Arrows have managed to fix some of their underlying issues. And it seems the 8-time constructor’s champions are finding their rhythm again.
Russell was shocked to see the car’s pace. However, the Briton was unhappy to not beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the pole position after coming so close to the pace of Red Bull.
George Russell was disappointed to not claim pole position
Russell believed Mercedes stood no chance to beat Red Bull on track this year. However, the Australian GP gave the Silver Arrows a favorable result and a chance to celebrate.
Russell managed to slot his car in the front row. And the Briton could not believe the improved performance of the struggling W14 as he claimed on his radio, “Not too shabby! I thought our car was one second off the pace!”
With Hamilton managing to qualify 3rd, Russell stated post-quali that the entire team was just as shocked as he was. He added, “We weren’t expecting that, that’s for sure!”
Yesssss!!! That’s a front row start for @GeorgeRussell63 at the #AusGP! 👏 pic.twitter.com/6bWe4zcAuM
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 1, 2023
The driver credited his team for working relentlessly on the car during the week off. But the Briton was disappointed to not bag the pole position knowing how good they were at Albert Park.
Russell added, “A lot of hard work going on back at the factory, and here in Melbourne. What a session for us. The car felt alive and the lap was on the limit. It’s a little bit disappointing that we didn’t get the pole position.”
Russell believes Mercedes outperformed their expectations
A few weeks back, both Goerge Russell and Lewis Hamilton weren’t pleased with their 2023 car. However, the Mercedes duo claims the team made the right decisions for the race.
Russell asserts, ahead of the race, his team would have been satisfied to start 4th or 5th. But the youngster underlined how close the competition in F1 is this season.
Russell claimed, “It’s one of those things when your expectations change so quickly in this sport. We probably would have been happy with a top 4 or 5 yesterday but the car felt awesome. It shows we have potential still to come.”
And P3 for @LewisHamilton in #AusGP Quali! Strong starting spots for tomorrow’s race. 💪 pic.twitter.com/m7pWmmbtm5
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 1, 2023
The Mercedes driver claims there is still room for improvement in the W14. However, he takes the 2nd place start as a step in the right direction. He added, “We’ll take it. It’s going to be tough to get to Max, but we are happy to be lined up P2.”
Russell managed to finish just 2-tenths behind Verstappen which is impressive indeed. This was the first time both Mercedes drivers qualified in the top three since the 2022 Mexico City GP.
