Mercedes ‘keep finding ourselves in this position’ as George Russell airs ‘story of season’ verdict

After a highly promising sprint qualifying session, quali for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix couldn’t have gone worse for the Mercedes team, leaving George Russell to rue the “story of the season.”

While Russell skimmed through to the final round of qualifying, a heavy crash into the barriers at Turn 19 will make for a long night for a Mercedes team already dealing with Lewis Hamilton’s shocking Q1 exit.

George Russell: Mercedes “keep finding ourselves in this position”

Coming into the United States Grand Prix, the Mercedes team brought a suite of upgrades to its W15, including tweaks to the front wing, front suspension, sidepod inlet, and floor edge.

The hope was that these updates would serve as a definitive step forward for the team from Brackley, and that the outfit could compete for a win in Austin.

Hopes were high after sprint qualifying, with George Russell starting from second position, and Lewis Hamilton from seventh.

While a fifth and sixth for Russell and Hamilton respectively in the sprint race itself wasn’t the finest showing, it did signal some promise for the afternoon’s qualifying session.

There, things fell apart. Hamilton failed to make it out of Q1 and will start from the last row on the grid for Sunday’s race. Hopes were higher for Russell, but the Briton lost control and crashed into the barriers at Turn 19 near the end of Q3.

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Speaking to media, including PlanetF1.com, after the session, Russell seemed perplexed by the car’s behavior.

“I mean, all season when the car’s in the sweet spot, we’re fighting for poles and wins,” he said.

“Yesterday, we were both fighting for pole, and today we were both almost out in Q1 and you know, I really pushed it on that last lap, ultimately trying to find performance that wasn’t there — and paid the price.

“I’m really just disappointed with myself, because everyone’s worked so hard to bring the upgrades.”

Asked if there had been a setup change between the sprint race and qualifying, Russell said, “No. We don’t have the answers.

He went on to elaborate that Mercedes keeps “finding ourselves in this position. It’s how the cars [are] interacting with the tires, the temperature, small changes, the wind.

“But, it has been the story of the season — old upgrades, new upgrades. Either we’re there, or we’re half second [or] six tenths off.”

Adding to the frustration, Russell said that the car “definitely didn’t feel as good” in Grand Prix qualifying as it did during sprint qualifying, where “things were coming so easily, and today, they’re not.

“We will have to revert on the upgrades. Lewis has kindly offered us his ones, but we’re not gonna…

“I’m not sure what’s going to be happening now.”

Russell will start the US Grand Prix from seventh, while Hamilton will start from 19th.

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