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George Russell qualified in P3 in Jeddah, missing out on pole position by just one tenth of a second. Russell has been one of the most impressive drivers of the season during the first few races. He has been in every battle for pole position, usually missing out by a few tenths of a second.
He was once again in the mix during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, ultimately just missing out as the Mercedes car seems more balanced but lacks sufficient outright pace. More News: F1 Analyst claims Max Verstappen's 'Head Turned' towards Other Teams Amid Red Bull Problems George, however, thought there was still more performance left on the table. “I’ve got mixed feelings because I felt there was a bit more on the table,” Russell told the media.
“There’s a lot of pressure going into that last lap because Oscar had a lap on the board. I think the run plan that Max did with the two laps was a really good one and one we didn’t really consider. Just having that lap on the board sort of takes the pressure off.
" “When you go into Turn 1, you’ve got to really send it and you’re braking at 75 meters." "When you’ve got no lap on the board, it’s like, ‘I’ve got no bailout here if I make the smallest of mistakes.’ So, look, P3 is much better than I thought and to be so close to Oscar.
Congrats to Max — he did a great job. It’s going to be interesting tomorrow.” More News: What are Max Verstappen's Options if the 4-Time Champion Leaves Red Bull The race could present opportunities for Russell to take the lead and win, especially if Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen battle fiercely through the fire corner, allowing Russell to seize the advantage.
Verstappen will be eager to have Piastri behind him, absorbing all of the Red Bull's dirty air, especially considering the McLaren car's difficulties with handling compromised airflow. “I think it depends on Turn 1, to be honest. Max and I were just talking now.
We both recognize McLaren are the standout favorites and definitely have the pace on everybody else," Russell said. More News: Fernando Alonso Would Welcome 'Unlikely' Max Verstappen Aston Martin Move "If Oscar gets into the lead, you’ll probably see a repeat of Bahrain. If we stay in the order we qualified, I think it could be a tight race until the pit stops.
" “The medium tire this year was last year’s soft, which only one driver used in the whole race. We saw the tires were too hard in Japan. We’ve all pushed to have softer tires.
" "Hopefully, it won’t make it a slam-dunk one-stop, and there could be a couple of different strategies on the table.” Hopefully, Turn 1 generates chaos to bring life into a race that could potentially become a routine one-stop. There have been safety cars in every race in Jeddah, which could potentially throw a wrench into the strategies.
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