Russell: Incredible to be back on pole

It was the Mercedes of Russell that shone brightest, the Silver Arrows reflecting the Spehre and the crazy neon that is the hallmark of the iconic Las Vegas venue, hosting the 22nd Round of the 2024 F1 World Championship this weekend.

The finicky Mercedes W15 is very fast in the icy Nevada desert which came as a surprise to the team often confounded by their car and unable to predict if the Good, the Bad or the Ugly version would hit the track,

This weekend the Good of the Merc version has been on display, with Russell making the most of it to claim his fourth F1 career top-spot start. He reported afterwards: "It feels incredible to be back on pole position. We've been so quick all weekend, but I knew that coming into Q3, it was going to be that last lap that counted and nothing that had happened before mattered.

"On my first effort, I had a little bit of a moment out of turn five and clipped the wall. The mechanics did a great job to switch the front-wing quickly before our final run, but there was a brief moment where I thought we wouldn't get back around and make the flag.

"I felt confident in myself though and knew that if I put together a clean lap that pole was possible and that was what we were able to deliver," revealed the Englishman, who also started the British GP and the Canadian GP from P1 on the grid this year.

"Ultimately though we've had a few good qualifying sessions recently and we need to convert them into good results. It will be a long race, and there will be plenty of unknowns, but I am hopeful that we can fight for victory," ventured Russell.

As for his risky [red flag possibility on his last run] call but successful call to go last in the final Q3 run, Russell said: "You have to put it on the table sometimes. I felt confident in myself and knew if I did a clean lap, I would be on the front row.

"To get pole is incredible but ultimately we have had a few good qualifyings and need to convert it. I'm excited for the Grand Prix; it'll be a great atmosphere on Saturday night racing down the Strip in Las Vegas. I'll have a good night's sleep this evening and come back raring to go," declared Russell.

The Mercedes driver impressed his boss Toto Wolff who observed in the team report after Las Vegas Qualifying: "The car has been really strong all weekend. We seem to be able to extract good performance in these cold temperatures, as we saw at Silverstone and Spa earlier in the season, and that has helped us

"Taking pole position is great but it is also a little bittersweet with Lewis [Hamilton] in P10. We definitely had the speed to be on the front row with both cars, but I am sure he will bounce back," added Wolff.

Mercedes are out of contention for the 2024 F1 Constructors' title and are set for their worst F1 season since 2012. Hamilton and Russell are embroiled in their own battle for P6 in the Drivers' standings, which the latter leads by two points.