Mercedes was unable to replicate its strong Canadian performance during qualifying for the Austrian GP, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli qualifying fifth and ninth respectively.
The British driver admitted that Mercedes knew “we wouldn’t be that competitive” at the Red Bull Ring. Their best result this season came in Canada, where George Russell claimed pole and went on to win the race.
The Silver Arrows, however, struggled more at Spielberg, where rising temperatures were just one of the many factors that didn’t play in favor of the W16.
George Russell’s comments
When asked if he was relatively satisfied with securing fifth place in qualifying given the hot Saturday conditions, George Russell sounded moderately content.
“Well, I won’t be celebrating tonight, but I won’t lose much sleep either,” the Briton said – “That’s how Formula 1 works. We know the strengths of our car and we had a really strong weekend in Canada,” the Mercedes number 63 continued. “But coming here, we knew we wouldn’t be as competitive, given the temperatures and the high-speed corners.”
“The asphalt is very abrasive, so the tyres suffer, and that’s when McLaren comes into play, and we lose ground,” he explained.
Qualifying was topped by Lando Norris ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton secured fourth, while George Russell will start from the third row alongside Liam Lawson. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull will line up seventh.
Given his position—behind McLaren and Ferrari but ahead of a Red Bull—George Russell was asked which drivers he expects to be battling most on Sunday.
The 27-year-old replied: “I think realistically it’ll be the Ferraris. Max is generally quite strong in these conditions, like in Barcelona and Imola, so he’ll probably make his way back through. In the end, we’ll just have to try and limit the damage as much as possible. Any result above fifth would be an excellent one, but of course, if there’s a chance to do more, we’ll go for it,” he concluded.
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