Russell happy with Mexico front row but frustrated by Mercedes’ inconsistent performance

George Russell qualified second for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday, nine thousandths of a second behind Lewis Hamilton. He was pleased with the front-row result, but said he remained frustrated by how inconsistently he could unlock the Mercedes’ pace.

A late Q3 effort briefly put Russell at the top of the timesheets, though he said he had not felt in contention all day. He believed the speed was in the car, but described the performance as swinging between very good and very bad laps, with little in between.

Russell said cooler temperatures late in qualifying worked in his favour, while a hard out-lap gave him more confidence to find grip in the tyres.