Russell ready to battle for podium spot: "We should beat them comfortably"

George Russell will start from the third row tomorrow, behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, after the McLaren driver split the Mercedes duo in qualifying. The Brit is aware of the problems in the hour-long session today but is ready to battle past Norris and get into a battle amongst the top four drivers.

"As a team, we were probably a bit more away than we would have hoped and expected after yesterday," the young Brit told Sky Sports, "I had a good run but made a mistake on my last lap. The gap is more concerning then the finishing order."

Mercedes strongest team to close gap to leaders in race

Soon after, his mood changed and Russell explained how the chance of a podium is still there and that he and his teammate, Hamilton, will look to battle with Sergio Perez for the final podium position, saying, "we are the only team who close the gap to the front on a Sunday compared to a Saturday. Hopefully, Lewis and I can take it to Checo because Charles and Max are a bit too quick for us at the moment."

Norris should be no issue for Russell

The Mercedes driver finished by showing his gratitude to the work put in by McLaren, but it should be no issue to pass Norris and head forwards up the grid. "They [McLaren] have always shown great qualifying pace, but we should beat them comfortably."