Russell on finishing in P8 in Qualifying: ‘I have just been off the pace'

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20:14, 28 Jul 2023

Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.

George Russell finished in eighth place in a tricky qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton will start from P3 on the grid. The British driver commented on performance on Friday.

"Yes, I mean it was a dynamic session. I've just been off the pace to be honest, just struggling in that session, don't really know why. I usually love those transitional sessions, but yeah every lap we were nowhere, so a bit to try and review, understand. Definitely would have liked to have been higher if we were," Russell told GPblog among others in Belgium.

'Have to understand the car more'

Russell said that he would have liked to have more laps in, but it was impossible in the current sprint format. "[It’s the] same for everybody. Obviously, we'd always love to do more laps. To understand the car, it didn't feel too bad, just slow overall a bit to try and understand. As I said, P8 is not a wonderful place to start for somebody, but definitely would have liked to be higher if we were."

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	115
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	106
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	73
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	70
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	55
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	37
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	32
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	28
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
12	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	14
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Russell on finishing in P8 in Qualifying: ‘I have just been off the pace'

'Have to understand the car more'

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