Russell thankful for P2 after qualifying issues: 'As good as I could achieve'
Photo: Race Pictures
09:47, 14 Mar
Updated: 10:14, 14 Mar
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Mercedes driver George Russell said P2 was "as good as I could achieve" after issues hampered his qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix.
"I had no battery to start my lap."- George Russell
The Brit stalled out on track at the beginning of Q3 as a reliability issue looked set to prematurely end his session without a lap time on the board.
However, the Brit managed to get his Mercedes machine going again, and after some work in the garage, he was able to get out with just seconds to spare and set a lap time.
A brilliant lap under the circumstances saw him finish two-tenths behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who became the youngest driver ever to take pole position in F1 history with his P1 in Shanghai, which Russell was quick to congratulate.
George Russell also had to change his front wing before Q3 due to a separate issue - Photo: Race Pictures
"Firstly, congrats to Kimi, but I think we did a really great job on our side," the 28-year-old said to GPblog and others after qualifying.
"It was just a crazy session from the end of Q2, the front wing broke, and the team weren't sure if it had broken or not. I was pretty convinced it had, and there was a bit of stress around that and changing the front wing.
"Then, as soon as I went out on the track, I could tell something wasn't right. I stopped it on the track, trying to restart the car, and it didn't restart. It started later, got back in, and I couldn't shift gears.
"Obviously, we just made it on track with seconds to spare, so I'm really, really happy to be sitting here right now, because I could easily have been down in P10 without a time on the board."
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Russell defies issues and lack of battery
After dominating proceedings at the Australian Grand Prix to start the season, Russell continued with his fine start to 2026 by taking Sprint Qualifying pole and a Sprint Race Victory ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
However, for the first time in 2026, some adversity came the Brit's way, but an impressive recovery saw him fight his way to P2 and salvage what could have been a qualifying disaster.
Russell also admitted that his final lap that got him to the front row of the grid was completed with a lack of battery at the beginning of the lap.
George Russell won the Sprint Race in Shanghai before qualifying, while Kimi Antonelli could only come fifth - Photo: Race Pictures
"It was as good as I could have achieved, but I had no battery start to my lap, and my tyres were cold," continued the Mercedes driver.
"But as I said, I'm very grateful to be sitting here right now. It was more a case of getting a time on the board.
"I knew Kimi had been really strong, and things were far from optimised on my side, so it was more a case of getting the car across the line and making sure I'm starting in a sensible position. P2 was much better than I expected.
"When I started the lap with no battery and no tyre temperature, I was expecting to be further down the order. So, as I said, just really glad to be here."
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