Russell says Mercedes’ qualifying call was wrong in hindsight, but defends engineer

George Russell said in hindsight that Mercedes’ decision during rain-hit qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix was wrong, but defended his race engineer. After encountering Alex Albon on a fast lap, Russell was advised to make space for another attempt. The rain then intensified and he could not improve, leaving Lando Norris ahead in qualifying.

Russell said Mercedes had the weather forecast while he did not. He thought the team could already sense the rain getting heavier when it made the call.

He said Mercedes needed to understand why it made the choice and whether its systems, including the radar, had given it the information it needed. Russell was frustrated at missing pole, but said his engineer was passing on information from 12 people and was not to blame.

Russell said he felt confident in the wet and hoped Sunday’s race would also be wet, believing he would then have a better chance. He was due to start seventh after a grid penalty for an engine change.