F1 Belgian GP: How George Russell stole the show and nearly pole on used inters
Max Verstappen may have denied George Russell a maiden Formula 1 pole, but it was the Williams driver who stole the show with an astonishing display in a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix qualifying.
Russell excelled ไin treacherous wet weather conditions to hau🐓l his uncompetitive Williams into the final part of qualifying, and then so nearly take what would have gone down as one of the greatest pole laps in F1 history.
The British driver’s outstanding sole Q3 effort saw him briefly hold provisional pole position, having outpaced Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes b💮y 0.013s, ⛦before Verstappen usurped him by just three tenths right at the end.
"I was in the fortunate position that I had nothing to lose,” said a delighted Russell in parc ferme directly🐲 after qu🍬alifying had concluded.
"We just had to go for it. We saved the full maximum engin🌄e mode for the last lap, but I’m buzzing, absolutely b🔜uzzing.”
It came after a lengthy delay to qualifying after Lando Norris suffered a scary high-speed shunt on his first flying lap of Q3.
As the rain fell heavier at the start of the top-10 shootout, the McLaren driver lost cꦍontrol on the run up Eau Rouge and speared into the barriers. The violent impact destroyed his car and resulted in immediate red flag.
It was a dramatic Saturday at Spa, in our first qualifying session after the 2021 summer break
Watch highlights here - including this incident that Lando thankfully walked away from, and a battle for pole that was decided by 0.013s taken a decision on who will partner Hamilton in☂ 2022, though it will remain a closely-guarded secret ♐for thღe time being.
“At La Source, he just gained so much time to everybody else because he’s the o🍬nly one who is on the apex,” Wolff said of Russell’s lap.
“That’s definitely a fact of driving and also a fact of having the right setu🐷p and the tyre temperatures anꦕd the window.
“The way Williams has approached qualifying was very clever. But it needs a driver to e🀅xploit the full potential of the package, or overperform the package.
“All that came together today and we still saw a b🅺rilliant lap from a brilliant young 𒀰driver.”
George Russell (GBR) Williams Racing celebrates his second position in qualifying parc ferme.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the world. Oftꦛen reporting on ꦯthe action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
