Russell warns of 'horrific' crash risk after São Paulo qualifying

George Russell has said conditions during qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix could have led to a "horrific" crash had they occurred during the race. Heavy rain at Interlagos caused the opening segment to be red-flagged after two minutes, with drivers reporting aquaplaning even on full wet tyres and visibility close to zero down the main straight.

Russell, who finished second behind Lando Norris, described the early laps of Q1 as extremely challenging, saying he could not see the braking zone for Turn 4 while aquaplaning at over 200 kilometres an hour. He said that while he enjoys driving in the rain, the conditions would have been unacceptable in a race.

With qualifying suspended for 82 minutes, Russell passed the time playing chess and speaking with mechanics in the Mercedes garage.