Lando Norris makes feelings clear on F1 rival George Russell after ‘great day’ for Mercedes driver ahead of Australian Grand Prix
Lando Norris has made his feelings clear about his F1 rival George Russell after the Mercedes driver delivered a commanding performance to secure pole position for the season opener.
Russell finished 0.293 seconds clear of teammate Kimi Antonelli in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, with Mercedes completing a front-row lockout that underlined their status as early championship favourites.
He was almost eight-tenths faster than the nearest non-Mercedes competitor.
After the impressive performance, Russell said: “It was a great day, we knew there was a lot of potential in the car, but until you get to the first Saturday of this season, you never know.”
He added: “Really happy to have Kimi here next to me as well.
“All in all a great day. It’s not easy to drive, it’s not easy for some of the fans to understand.
“I am excited for the race tomorrow and I think it can bring some quite exciting racing.
“It’s always amazing every time we come to Melbourne. Hopefully we can deliver a good race.”
Defending world champion Lando Norris will begin his title defence from sixth on the grid
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Defending world champion Lando Norris will begin his title defence from sixth on the grid.
He had struggled throughout the weekend and ended up nearly a full second behind his compatriot Russell.
McLaren’s mechanics were forced to repair his front wing using duct tape for the remainder of qualifying after the car was damaged.
Speaking of his British rival, Norris said: “I think George will be the only one say it’s nice, to be honest.”
George Russell finished 0.293 seconds clear of teammate Kimi Antonelli in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix
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Turning to his qualifying laps, he added: “Just inconsistent, one lap better, one lap not. It’s just tricky.
“I’ve been a little bit on the back foot.
“In some ways it’s an expectation at the start of the year that you just try to minimise them [issues].
“I was actually pretty happy with the position in the end, I was actually figuring out how to drive the car, maybe late.”
The F1 drivers with the most World Championships | PA/GETTY/REUTERSIsack Hadjar secured an impressive third place on his Red Bull debut, although he finished almost eight tenths adrift of Russell’s benchmark time.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed fourth position, with Oscar Piastri taking fifth for McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton lines up seventh in his Ferrari, finishing a tenth and a half slower than teammate Leclerc and becoming the last driver to lap within one second of pole position.
Further down the order, Fernando Alonso qualified 17th for Aston Martin, while teammate Lance Stroll failed to post a time due to ongoing Honda power unit problems.
