Russell attributes tyre troubles to a “shame” of a Qualifying at the Spanish GP

Credit: Formula One

After yet another Qualifying session finishing behind his teammate, George Russell has attributed his "shame" of a sixth-place result to overheating tyres. 

The Briton was performing decently in the earlier stages of the session, as Mercedes typically does when the new soft tyres are strapped on. In Q1, Russell set the fastest lap, following fears that he had damaged the car from brushing the wall. 

During Q3, Russell set out on the track again to take a stab at pole position, something that he achieved last week and lost as the Grand Prix unfolded. A win this weekend at a new circuit, and against his teammate who has begun to pull farther and farther away, would be invaluable to Russell at this point in the season.

By the time the session clock expired, Russell found himself down in sixth place, his lowest Qualifying result since the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

Following the session, Russell reflected on what all went wrong for him in Q3. 

“I was in the mix to fight for pole and on that last lap of Q3, I just really pushed the limit,” he said. “I was about three tenths up and then lost it all towards the end of the lap with the tyres overheating.

“That was quite a shame. It was really close between everyone out there, and here we are.” 

Credit: Luca Martini / WHYOUT Media

For Sunday’s Grand Prix, Russell will have to hope that overtaking is a readily available option. As it stands, there are projected to be few overtaking opportunities on this particular circuit, which certainly puts Russell in a tricky situation.

“I jumped in the car and felt very comfortable here, and confident,” he concluded.

 “As the track has got faster, I’ve been struggling to get the most out of the tyres. I’ve just been sliding rather than going round the corners faster, and I need to understand why that is.” 

Russell currently sits 66 points behind his teammate in the drivers’ championship battle, a gap that continues to grow as the season progresses. Points deficit aside, the pace and performance gap between the two Mercedes has become a point of contention within the team. During Sunday's Grand Prix, Russell will be looking to shorten the gap.