In a thrilling and unpredictable qualifying session under the floodlights in Sakhir, George Russell secured what appeared to be an impressive second place on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
At the time, Russell was unaware that both he and Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli would later receive grid penalties for a procedural error during Q2. But even in the moment, the Mercedes driver had plenty to reflect on after what he described as a surprising turnaround in form.
Russell was surprised by Qualifying result
Heading into qualifying, the narrative had centred around McLaren’s blistering pace. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had topped every Free Practice session. That sentiment looked set to hold true, especially as the McLarens comfortably led the way through Q2.
Yet, when the dust settled in Q3, it was Russell who had split the papaya pair, only 0.168 seconds shy of Piastri’s pole time.
Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, a candid Russell admitted he hadn’t expected to be so close.
“Yeah, 100%. I think if anybody said we’d be within half a second of the McLarens, we would have taken it, because we would have thought that would have been sort of P3 on the grid. So to be second on the grid is a bonus. Congrats to Oscar [Piastri], great lap and excited for tomorrow.”
The Mercedes driver explained that a drop in track temperature under the lights helped close the gap to the McLarens, whose long-run performance had been untouchable in hotter conditions.
“I’ve got to be honest. I think the strides were being made with the night time coming in and the track temperature getting a little bit cooler. We saw it this morning in Practice 3—when it was roasting hot, the McLarens were down the road, and now as this session unfolded, we just seemed to get quicker and quicker. So yeah, lining up P2 is a great chance tomorrow but I think being realistic, it will be a challenge to fight with Oscar.”
Was there a lack of confidence?
That realism shone through again as Russell opened up about his fluctuating confidence behind the wheel across the three sessions.
“Yeah, it was a really strong Q3. To be honest, I wasn’t really feeling it throughout qualifying and didn’t have the confidence in myself, which was quite a surprise. I don’t know why that was. Q1 and Q2 were a real challenge.
“But in Q3 I just got back into my normal rhythm and put in some strong laps. Really surprised to be a tenth and a half off pole and ahead of one of the McLarens and also Charles up there as well. We were talking before — I think we were both shocked to be this close. So yeah, definitely a strong one.
“No, no, it was just all in myself, to be honest. Q1 and Q2, usually you’re building up to Q3, but I hadn’t been feeling comfortable with the car today. And like Oscar said, I was doing donuts this morning, which is not really the best prep ahead of a qualifying session.
“But in Q3, I just sort of sent it and had a bit more confidence in myself and the lap came together really nicely. So yeah, really strong, really clean lap and a great place to be.”
Learning from Japan
Russell also reflected on the contrast between this result and his qualifying disappointment in Japan the previous weekend.
“I mean, this weekend’s totally different, to be honest. I was very disappointed in Japan with P5.“
Russell explained,”I felt that we had the potential to qualify much higher up the order. But this weekend I wasn’t expecting to be on the front row. I thought P3 was going to be by far the maximum we could have achieved today.”
“Realistically, anywhere from P3 to P6, maybe even P7. So to be on the front row is a real surprise. I don’t expect it to be a straightforward race tomorrow. I think Oscar is going to be mighty fast. They seem to be a long way ahead of the field when it comes to tyre overheating and the track being too hot for the tyres, which is what we’re going to experience tomorrow. So let’s see how it pans out.”
Looking ahead at the race
Looking ahead to the race, Russell acknowledged that Bahrain may favour race pace over outright qualifying performance, something that could play into McLaren’s hands once more.
“I think unlike the first three races of the season, this isn’t going to be necessarily a qualifying race. I think this is going to be the race which is most biased to the lap times you do in the race. Obviously I hope to make a good start. I’ve been on the front row here before and got into the lead at Turn 1, so hopefully I can repeat that.
“But I think they’re so far ahead of everybody. They can pit early, pit late — they’ll probably potentially overtake us on track. But as I said, today we’re on the front row and nobody expected anyone but Lando and Oscar to be on the front row. So maybe another surprise tomorrow.”
Russell’s optimism and level-headed performance assessment stood out; especially considering what would follow. Shortly after, the FIA issued one-place grid penalties to both Russell and Antonelli for leaving the pit lane prematurely during the Q2 red flag restart. It was an administrative misstep on Mercedes’ part, with Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin admitting to misinterpreting the timing screen.
Though the breach was deemed unintentional, the FIA determined that a sporting penalty was necessary, dropping Russell to third on the grid and Antonelli to fifth.
Still, the takeaway remains clear: Mercedes may not be back to their dominant best just yet, but with Russell at the wheel, they are more than capable of springing surprises—with or without penalties.
