George Russell regrets conservative lap after Lando Norris crash: “I’d kick myself”. George Russell reflects on a missed pole in Jeddah after a cautious Q3 lap.

Despite being at the center of market rumors due to the delayed contract renewal with Mercedes (and under the shadow of Max Verstappen), George Russell continues to make headlines on track. Another excellent third place in qualifying at Jeddah for the British driver, though this time he has something to reproach himself for, considering how close he was to Super Max’s pole.

George Russell was overly conservative in the only good lap he had in Q3, especially after what happened to Lando Norris, who slammed his McLaren into the wall, condemning himself to a comeback race from tenth on the grid. In hindsight, the regret grows for not attacking the track in the final part of a lap that had been flawless up to the third sector.

Fear of making a mistake after Lando Norris’s error
“I had said I’d be happy with third, and I really am. But to be honest, I would have wanted more and I felt there was more on the table,” he admitted after qualifying. “Since we only had one lap, there was no margin for error and I couldn’t mess it up. I was fairly conservative with the tyres and warmed them up a bit too much.” – he pointed out – “I was worried about Turn 1, because if I had made a mistake there, it would have all been over and I could have ended up tenth. The first sector went well, the second too, but then in the third I lost about a tenth and a half and in the end the gap to pole was a tenth. I’d kick myself a little, but the race is long and anything can happen.”

Anything can happen, if Oscar Piastri doesn’t take the lead
Looking ahead to the race, Russell reiterates his usual concerns about McLaren. But if Oscar Piastri doesn’t take the lead into the first corner (not so easy in Jeddah), then everything is still wide open.

“Realistically, if we stay in the order we’re in, I think we have a chance to be in the mix. We can try something different with strategy, but if Oscar gets into the lead straight away at Turn 1, it’s realistic to think he’ll pull away. Most likely Lando Norris will start on hard tyres, so at some point he’ll find himself in the lead and we’ll see what happens. If there’s a Safety Car at the right moment, that could also be an advantage for him, so it won’t be easy.”