Russell saw pole-winning strategy discarded at Mercedes: 'Put my trust in the team'

For George Russell it was P3, behind Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. Whilst Red Bull gave incumbent champion a two lap run, for the British driver there was only one shot, and he 'just didn't have the confidence to nail it'.

Speaking in the paddock to media present in Jeddah, including GPblog, Russell revealed that Verstappen's pole-winning strategy had indeed been discussed, but ultimately discarded in the Mercedes pitwall.

"It was discussed more to actually start on the new and put the used on after. I'm sure it was discussed on the pit wall. I'm not privy to every single conversation because I’m just driving the car at that point, and I put my trust in the team. But it's something we'll discuss afterwards."

Russell sees more opportunities for F1 Saudi Arabian GP, than in Japan

Having only one shot to nail a qualifying lap around a track like Jeddah's is certainly daunting, Russell explains before outlining 'opportunities' for the F1 Saudi Arabian Grnd Prix.

"As a driver, just knowing you've only got that one lap... Especially on a track like this, you've got to be full commitment. Turn 1... you're pushing the tyres to be as cold as possible, and I didn’t have the confidence to push them any cooler. I lost a bit of lap time with my tyres being a bit too hot, because I was just being a little bit too conservative with them."

"P3 is a great place to start. I think the deg on the Medium is going be pretty high, so I hope there will be more opportunities than Japan."

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