George Russell’s comments after outshining Lewis Hamilton at Las Vegas GP speak volumes

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was left scratching his head after qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix with George Russell third on the grid and Lewis Hamilton missing Q3.

If third place at the Las Vegas Grand Prix isn’t enough to prove that George Russell is Mercedes’ most reliable driver right now, his post-session interview will back that up.

For Mercedes, qualifying was a mixed bag.
On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton had a tough day and failed to make the third quarter. He played in the 10th competition thanks to Carlos Sainz’s shot.
But the Silver Arrows are feeling much better, with Russell fourth on the timesheets and third on the grid. The young Brit was able to warm up his tires better on a cold track than his own.
He certainly seemed much more energetic in the interview, and even though his driving was erratic, he seemed confident. He said: “I am delighted with the results. I felt confident on this track.
I didn’t expect this weekend to be so competitive.

“But I want to be honest, it may sound strange, but I wasn’t too worried about where we qualified today.
Because if we finish in the top 10, that’s the biggest unknown of the racing season.”

Russell’s main concern is tire shredding on cold roads, something Mercedes has seen plenty of in practice.
In contrast, Ferrari has been less affected by this particular problem and with Charles Leclerc at his peak, the Italians will find it very difficult to catch up, he said.
He described the Ferrari as “in a class of its own”. Hamilton agreed in an interview where he sounded even more excited and said he wanted to drive like Charles Leclerc and Sainz.
The Las Vegas Strip has been transformed into a Formula 1 circuit for special action-packed weekends until the 2023 season. With the second-longest circuit on the calendar and plenty of new faces, there are still plenty of unknowns and you can catch all the action on Sky Sports.
The seven-time world champion said: “It’s not that great.
Yesterday was a bit better and we look relatively competitive.
Some changes happened overnight.
FP3 was so bad that it set me back and I tried to come back in qualifying but it never happened.
“It was just a grip problem and the car didn’t suit me.
And if I don’t make it through the second quarter, it’s definitely going to be difficult.” And he made it clear that he had no expectations of the competition.
“What can I achieve?” “Your guess is as good as mine.
“First of all, I had a car and that meant a big crop in the back, just like everyone else.
In 3FP there is a bit of a knot in the back and I’m wondering what to do with it.
And it will be important how you move forward, where you push and where you will not be tomorrow.
But seeing a Ferrari today is pretty impressive.
It’s a fast car!”