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Russell started P12 in Barcelona before reaching the podium, can he duplicate that in Austria
After a difficult qualifying session saw him start the Spanish Grand Prix in P12, George Russell charged through the field in the race, coming across the line third to help Mercedes to its first double podium of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
The Mercedes driver is left to hope for something similar after a disappointing qualifying session on Friday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
With just the one practice session to work with ahead of qualifying, Russell finished FP1 in ninth position. But from the start of qualifying, it seemed tough sledding for the Mercedes driver, as he needed multiple runs simply to advance to Q2. He would not see Q3, however, as he ended up qualifying 11th for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“We weren’t quick enough today and from the first laps in the practice session I didn’t have the best feel of the car,” said Russell in the team’s post-qualifying report. “Obviously, it’s challenging going into a sprint race weekend like this, as you just don’t have the time to make necessary changes.”
Andrew Shovlin, the Team’s Trackside Engineering Director, pointed to a lack of grip as the main culprit. “We’ve struggled for high speed grip today and ultimately that’s where we were losing out in qualifying,” said Shovlin. “George had a tough session; he’s lacked the confidence in the rear to really push and ultimately if we can’t give him that in qualifying he’ll be on the back foot from the start.”
Still, Russell remains optimistic that he can fight his way back at Red Bull Ring, one of the tracks on the grid where overtaking is possible. According to this study from Keberz Engineering, Red Bull Ring saw 31 overtakes per race from 2017 through 2022, which would certainly help Russell’s chances.
“We’ll see what we can do overnight going into tomorrow and how we can improve ahead of the sprint qualifying,” said the Mercedes driver. “P11 is clearly not the best starting position for Sunday, but we’ve had some good results starting from further down the field this year so I’m hopeful we can fight our way back during the race.”
