George Russell reflected on the point at which it was “game over” for Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying, when the Mercedes driver was knocked out of Q2 after losing power – just after his team mate Kimi Antonelli crashed out at the end of Q1.
The Silver Arrows team had struggled to keep pace with their rivals in the first three practice sessions, often taking their place at the back of the top 10 while McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari fought it out towards the front.
But Russell had brought some major upgrades with the car as they went into Qualifying, one of the most challenging but most thrilling sessions of the year considering the tight layout of the circuit and the high traffic volume.
The Briton was set for a second Q3 outing before events started to go awry, as he lost power at the drop of a hat and came to a stop in the tunnel – following an abortive restart attempt, he was nudged off the track and relegated to start the race from P14.
It was like we were back in the flow,” said the Briton after the run. “Q1, everything was just coming easy. I was loving the car and suddenly, for the first time this weekend, the thing came alive.”.
Headed into the beginning of Q2, while I managed to get one corner completed, the car actually handled quite well and I was feeling like we could fight for the top four positions like we have all season long. As we came off the hill, the car bottomed, took a small bump and everything was off. That was over.”.
“Not good news [tomorrow]. It is hard to find any positives at the moment. I am sad because Qualifying here is the best Qualifying of the year. I didn’t get a chance to do that.”.
“The team have worked so hard from Practice through to now, and it was coming good. I could feel from lap one of Q1 that we’re in the race. It all went out of the window.”
His rookie team-mate also endured the same disappointment and will need to start from P15 after he brought out the red lights in the final moments of Q1 – Antonelli, in contrast, having already positioned himself well for Q2 before his crash,.
As he approached the Nouvelle Chicane, the Italian rookie hit the barrier and damaged his car, which then kept him from turning and he drove straight on into the wall, rendering him unable to drive for the rest of Qualifying.
He said: “It was a very costly and unnecessary mistake, and obviously a shame to finish like this. I feel bitterly sorry for the team and today is obviously my fault.”.
“I was only attempting to get settled in the car and attempting to make it through the session. I believe we’ve definitely been fighting worse this weekend than we have otherwise, but the mistake is mine, it’s not the car’s fault at all.”
