Russell defends Mercedes engineer after Interlagos qualifying call

George Russell has defended his Mercedes race engineer after being told to abort a flying lap in Q3 for the São Paulo Grand Prix, just before heavier rain arrived and denied him a shot at pole position. Russell ended up second, 0.204s behind Lando Norris, but will start the race seventh after a grid penalty. Toto Wolff intervened directly on the driver's radio during the session as frustration rose on the Mercedes pit wall.

Russell said he believed another lap was possible before the rain came, and that he had been on a strong lap after catching Alex Albon's Williams when the call to back off came through. He acknowledged the decision was wrong and said the team needed to understand why it was made, pointing to the reliance on weather forecasts and radar that the driver does not have access to himself.

Russell stressed that the blame does not lie with his engineer, who was relaying information from around 12 people, and said he still felt pole was there for the taking.