Russell gives his side of the story after angry Brazilian GP radio outburst
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
George Russell believes pole position was within his reach at the Brazilian Grand Prix before a miscommunication with Mercedes forced him to abandon his final qualifying attempt, with the Briton admitting the team made the wrong decision.
Russell qualified second behind Lando Norris following a rain-affected session at Interlagos, but his final attempt in Q3 ended in frustration after he was instructed to back off when he encountered Alex Albon ahead of him.
The Mercedes driver was already second when he began his final flying lap, setting purple times in both the first and second sectors. However, his race engineer instructed him to slow down in the final sector, with the team expecting him to have another opportunity before the rain intensified. That opportunity never materialised, leaving Russell furious over the radio as Norris retained pole position.
Russell convinced Brazilian GP pole was within reach
Speaking after qualifying, Russell explained that Mercedes misjudged the timing of the approaching rain, believing there would still be enough time for another flying lap.
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"I think it was just a bit of miscommunication with the team because we believed we'd get another lap before the rain came in. I was on a really strong lap and I was asked to back off because I caught up with Albon, and then obviously the rain came," Russell explained.
"It was very disappointing. We need to understand how it happened and why we got that wrong, but I felt very strong the whole session. Similar to Lando, I have more confidence in the wet than I had in the dry. Pole was there for the taking."
Russell's frustration was particularly evident immediately after the incident, when he questioned the instruction over team radio. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff subsequently intervened to remind him that he was still second.
Photo: Race Pictures
Russell refuses to blame Mercedes engineer for qualifying mistake
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Asked whether he was tempted to overrule his engineer's instruction and continue pushing, Russell explained that drivers have to trust the information provided by their teams, particularly when weather conditions are changing rapidly.
"They've got the weather forecast in front of them and I don't. This is where you need that trust and you're relying on one another," he said.
"Obviously, it was the wrong decision, and it was a decision that, as soon as it was made, I think we knew it was the wrong one because already they could actually feel the rain pouring harder."
Despite his disappointment, Russell insisted that responsibility should not fall solely on his race engineer, pointing to the number of people involved in making decisions from the pit wall.
"We're relying on a lot of systems. We can't point the finger at somebody. We need to understand why we made that decision and were our systems telling us what we needed to know, because you're relying on the radar.
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"But it doesn't make it any less frustrating for me. It's not my engineer's fault. He is relaying information. He's ultimately the one who passes the message on, but he's got 12 people talking to him, giving him that information to relay. So we just need to understand why we made that decision."
Russell will start Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix from seventh on the grid despite qualifying second, following a five-place grid penalty. His Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli will instead line up alongside Norris on the front row.
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