Despite their most competitive result of the season, neither Mercedes driver was particularly happy after qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix.
A late run in Q3 promoted George Russell to fourth on the grid for Sunday’s race, albeit six-tenths off the blistering pole time set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
However, the Briton revealed his lap was far from ideal, suggesting he could have got in the ix with the likes of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz ahead.
“It wasn’t actually our most perfect qualifying session,” he said. “We didn’t really have the tyres in the right window, and I thought there was a lot more lap time on the table.
“Yet we still came home with P4 with our best qualifying of the season.”
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As for the race, Russell believes Mercedes can fight for second as hot temperatures in Barcelona are set to make tyre management a crucial factor.
“Looking at the pace, on Friday we had a better race car than we did a qualifying car,” he claimed.
“I think we’ve got a real chance against Ferrari, but Red Bull – especially Max – seem a little bit faster than the rest. So all to play for.”
As for teammate Lewis Hamilton, he was left at the bottom of the leading three teams in sixth.
“I’m a little bit gutted because I want to be further up ahead,” he said. “You’ve obviously seen George is able to put it further ahead than I, but I will keep pushing.”
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Encouraging Saturday, but the points are scored on Sunday. Bring it on! ? pic.twitter.com/6o3s9wGwbH
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 21, 2022
Still, the seven-time world champion remains elated by the progress Mercedes has made this weekend.
“The team have done such a great job,” said Hamilton. “A big, big, big thank you to everyone who continue to push back at the factory.
“We don’t have the bouncing in a straight line, which is a huge improvement for us, and the car has generally been nicer this weekend.
“We do have some bouncing like through the high-speed corners, like Turn 3 and 9. But we just need to keep working away and try and see if we can improve that and gain a little bit more downforce elsewhere.”
