Mercedes looked like they had a chance for pole position in Mexico, but it was Max Verstappen who excelled in the final part of qualifying. Still, George Russell will start from the front row of the grid and beat his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the process. 

Frustration 

He had a lap time deleted at the end of the session, but that didn't affect his result. On his way to the pits, Russell looked frustrated with the outcome. He admitted to this during the post-race interview with David Coulthard. 

"The team deserve more, they produced a great car this weekend. A testament to the hard work. I felt like it was our pole to have. A terrible lap from my side. Kicking myself, but no points for qualifying and excited to be back on the front row," Russell said. 

The Mercedes car worked very well on both Friday and Saturday. They've been challenging for P1 in every single session, something that hasn't been the case through the rest of the season. Russell says some of this is down to the upgrade they introduced in Austin last weekend, but the altitude has a bigger factor. 

"The drag is less of a factor. That's where we get outscored by Red Bull. I'll be going for it, let's see what's possible," Russell added.