One was seen in the Sprint qualifying sessions in Austin Mercedes which revealed excellent sensations on the performance front, after a single quiet free practice session. George Russell finished second fastest, just twelve thousandths of a second from Max Verstappen‘s pole position. A result with which the Briton said he was satisfied. Despite the SQ3 penalized by a yellow flag, too Lewis Hamilton he showed an optimistic attitude after Friday, thanks to the good sensations he gained behind the wheel of the W15, at least on the flying lap. Positive impact also from the point of view of the updates that were introduced by the three-pointed star.
Russell: “in the last sector we made the difference”
“Honestly I’m very happy, it’s been a while since we were on the front row,” he declared George Russell at the end of the Sprint Shootout in Texas. The driver of the Mercedes number 63 finished just a handful of thousandths behind Verstappen, who set a perfect lap. “It was a rather complicated session, but I managed to put the lap together. The last sector was really strong, that’s where we made the difference,” continued the British driver. To the enthusiasm for the rediscovered front row, Russell also looked from the pit side of his teammate, highlighting the competitiveness expressed by Hamilton, penalized by a yellow flag. “I’m sorry for Lewis because he was doing a great lap but he found the yellow flag, otherwise he would have been in front too, but it’s great to be back in the fight.” Mercedes was also called upon to provide important responses on the update front which had been planned for some time for the Texas stop. Although it was just the weekend’s appetizer, Russell said it appears to be in the right direction. “The package of updates we brought here seems to work well, although we were a little surprised by our competitiveness today,” he specified after the Sprint qualifications.
Hamilton: “car overnight, the updates worked”
During his attempt in SQ3, Lewis Hamilton was slowed down by yellow flag caused by Colapinto’s Williams. An event which, moreover, led him to make an immediate subsequent mistake, which cost him dearly in chronometric terms. After the first day on the track, the seven-time world champion however wanted to look at the glass half full, underlining the progress noted at the wheel of the Mercedes W15 between free practice and Sprint qualifying. “We did a great job on the car. As soon as I got out it was like it was night and day. Good job by the team and Bono.” While on what happened in the last part of qualifying, he continued: “I was just unlucky with the yellow flag. I was four tenths ahead and then it was what it was.” Until a few moments before, Hamilton had impressed with the split times he had recorded. It should be noted that the Briton had time available to try a second attempt, but the little fuel on board would have forced him to make a pit stop, which however was impossible to do within the time limit. The seventh square on the grid However, he does not deny him his enthusiasm, the result of the step forward that has been achieved from his point of view. “The positive thing is that the team has made an improvement. The updates worked.”
