George Russell places his complete Components 1 2024 defeat of former Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying right down to being “psychologically in a extremely good place”.
The 26-year-old ended the 2024 season with a 24-6 qualifying report in opposition to Hamilton, with all classes together with those who set the grid for dash occasions considered.
This compares with their 8-12 and 15-13 data from 2022 (when there have been simply three sprints general and just one qualifying session on every such weekend, therefore the decrease whole) and 2023.
Hamilton typically struggled to keep up promising observe kind throughout his remaining Mercedes marketing campaign with the troublesome W15, the place Russell additionally led him within the factors standings and every completed the season with two wins apiece.
This could have been a 3-1 break up in Russell’s favour however for his Spa on-the-road victory being misplaced for his automotive/driver post-race weight whole coming in 1.5kg below the minimal allowed in F1’s guidelines.
When requested by Autosport why he feels he was so good at qualifying in comparison with Hamilton on the latest 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Russell replied: “I simply really feel actually assured inside the automotive, assured inside myself.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photographs
“I really feel psychologically I am in a extremely good place, particularly in terms of these high-pressure eventualities to get probably the most out of myself.
“I am not gonna evaluate in opposition to my team-mate, however simply by way of my very own private efficiency, I really feel [I’m] driving higher than ever.”
Russell additionally mentioned he felt even higher in himself in comparison with the beginning of 2024, when it grew to become clear he could be set to guide Mercedes as Hamilton determined to hitch Ferrari for 2025.
“Each driver is able to doing nice laps and nice performances, however when the stress’s up and it comes right down to that one lap in Q3 – that is the place it comes right down to your headspace, actually,” Russell mentioned of how his psychological feeling had impacted his 2024 outcomes.
“And I really feel like I’ve realized loads about myself and the right way to get probably the most out of myself. And for everybody it is completely different. However I simply know in myself what works for me.”
On this article
Alex Kalinauckas
Components 1
Lewis Hamilton
George Russell
Mercedes
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