George Russell was left “kicking” himself over a mistake on his final lap in Formula 1 qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix, believing it was “our pole to have.”
Russell looked in contention for his second career pole position at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as he carried his pace-setting form from FP2 and FP3 through to the one-hour qualifying session.
Sitting just over a tenth behind Max Verstappen after the first runs in Q3, Russell was on par with the newly-crowned double world champion after the first two sectors, but ran wide at Turn 12 heading into the stadium section.
While Verstappen improved on his original lap time to take pole by three tenths, Russell felt the mistake had cost him a real shot at claiming pole.
“The team deserved more today, they’ve produced a really great car this weekend, and I think it’s testament to them for the hard work they’ve been putting in for so long,” said Russell.
“We saw last week Lewis showed what the car was capable of. I feel like it was our pole to have, and it was just a terrible lap from my side, so I’m sort of kicking myself.
“But at the end of the day, no points for qualifying and I’m excited to be back on the front row.”
Mercedes enjoyed its best qualifying of the 2022 season as Lewis Hamilton lines up just behind his team-mate in third place, with the team aiming to end its wait for a first victory this year.
Russell believes the high altitude played a significant role in Mercedes’ qualifying result, with its deficit in straightline speed to Red Bull less of a factor at this circuit.
“With this high altitude, the drag is less of a factor, and that is where we get outscored by Red Bull, let’s say,” he said.
“They’re always taking like three tenths out of us on the straight. Here it’s less of a factor, so that’s probably why we’re a little bit more competitive.”
Asked about the team’s long run pace, Russell was optimistic it had a “reasonable shot” of fighting at the front in Sunday’s race.
“Having Lewis at the front gives us the chance to do something different with the strategy,” Russell said. “We’ll see what we can do.”
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