George Russell sounded a warning shot to rivals by defying his car's FP1 pace to put the Mercedes on the front row of the grid for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Race, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton struggled.
Lando Norris took the Sprint Qualifying pole in the Mercedes-powered McLaren, but it was ultra-close between the front row men; P2 went to Russell, just 0.063s shy of the top time, while Hamilton was found wanting almost half a second when it mattered.
Russell reported afterwards: "It felt strong all session. The car is great around this circuit. This circuit is one of the best when you get into that groove and rhythm. It is so fast. I went flat through the high speed for the first time in my last lap in Q3 and confused the engine a bit.
"I lost; I don't know how much, but I had a big recharge on the exit of the corner because I went through it flat. Way too technical! But it was a bit annoying because I nailed it and then lost a load of speed on the exit, but I think Lando was a smidge out of reach," acknowledged Russell, winner of the Las Vegas Grand Prix last weekend.
Even though Mercedes is out of the 2024 F1 Constructors' Championship between McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull, while Max Verstappen is this year's F1 Drivers' world champion, the Englishman sees the Sprint Race as an opportunity to close the season in style.
"They are in a big championship fight. We have nothing to lose. We are going for the big results. We will try to make a good start. The Sprint is just the Sprint. We need to focus on qualifying as well," added Russell.
Hamilton, who powered from P10 on the grid to P2 on the night Russell won in Vegas, gave himself no mercy in his summary of the session: "It was the same as every other qualifying, not that great. I'm just slow. Same every weekend. The car felt relatively decent. No issues. Not really much more to say."
As for the sprint on Saturday, Hamilton ventured, "The long run didn't feel too bad. But, when you're back when I am, it makes it almost impossible to compete for wins. But that's the Sprint. I will do what I can tomorrow. The positive is the car is fast, and George should be able to shoot for pole tomorrow."
Hamilton referencing qualifying after Saturday's sprint race for Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff hinted at the game plan for the Sprint: "We don't have a lot to lose, so George can be dynamic with good race pace. I think the cars are so close, and on the long runs, overtaking is quite difficult."
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