George Russell faced an unexpected setback in qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix, landing in P5 after being outpaced by Racing Bulls’ rising star Isack Hadjar, who secured a remarkable P4.
The Mercedes driver admitted he was caught off guard by the Frenchman’s performance on a windy and challenging Saturday at the iconic Zandvoort circuit.
While stunned by Hadjar’s final flyer in Q3, Russell praised the young gun’s standout lap while reflecting on the tight competition across the field.
“Yeah, he did a great job, to be honest,” Russell told Sky F1. “It's been really tight all weekend between the majority of the field and you saw how fast the Astons were in practice.
“And if you just don't hook it up in that Q3 lap, then you'll be a few positions down the order. But P5, anywhere from P3 to P5 is sort of where we were but we probably didn't expect to be behind Isack.”
A Frustrating Session for Russell
Russell admitted his own performance fell short of expectations, citing difficulties in extracting the car’s full potential.
“To be honest, no, I don't think [I extracted everything from the car]. It was very challenging,” he said.
“Qualifying didn't feel very smooth, wasn't very comfortable. It's difficult this circuit, especially with how windy it is,” he said.
“Zandvoort’s seaside venue, notorious for its gusty conditions, posed a significant challenge for drivers. But tyre management also played a critical role, withRussell explaining the fine margins that separated a good lap from a great one.
“If you just hook it up, it's a track where you could find sort of four-tenths from not really doing much different.
“It's just one small slide, the tyres overheat and then you sort of lose a couple of tenths in the subsequent corners, whereas other laps you can just be like 1% below the limit, you have no slides and you just have more and more grip and a really strong lap time comes.
“So as I said, it wasn't an amazing day, but the race is tomorrow.”
Eyes on the Podium
Despite the qualifying disappointment, Russell remains optimistic about his prospects for the race. With Mercedes showing promising long-run pace in practice, he believes a podium is within reach.
“I think realistically anywhere from P3 to... yeah, P3 is what we're fighting for really. I think our long-run pace looked reasonably good, but it's going to come down to strategy because it's very challenging to overtake around here,” he said.
Read also: Hadjar hails ‘best lap of the year’ after stunning Dutch GP qualifyingThe tight and twisty Zandvoort layout makes overtaking a tall order, placing a premium on strategy and tyre management for Sunday’s race. Russell will need to navigate these challenges while likely contending with Hadjar and others to secure a strong result.
As the grid lines up for the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, Russell’s focus will be on reclaiming lost ground and proving that Mercedes can still fight at the front.
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