Russell rages after aborted lap in fight for pole

Advertisement Sport Russell rages after aborted lap in fight for pole 08 Nov 2026 06:57AM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a new cards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SAO PAULO, Nov 7 : George Russell raged over the radio after the Mercedes driver was thwarted in a bid for a morale-boosting fastest lap in Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Russell carried a five-place grid penalty for an engine change but the Briton still wanted to finish the session on top. Instead, he was told to back off after coming up behind Williams' Alex Albon and the rain then denied him any further chance of beating the pole time set by McLaren's Lando Norris. "Mate, you told me to back off! What the hell?," Russell shouted over the radio after realising his day was done and he was only second fastest and would be seventh on the grid. "P2. I don't want to be P2. I want to be P1." CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Team boss Toto Wolff said it was a 50-50 call and Russell, after so many ups and downs this season, had been in league of his own. "I don't think it would have been enough for pole, but he drove perfectly all session and merited to be on pole," said the Austrian of the aborted lap. "He deserved it but you can't make that call. It's 50 per cent right or wrong. Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli clinched the title at the previous race in Mexico City and the Briton is now fourth in the battle for overall runner-up after starting the season as title favourite. "That was definitely the pole lap," the 28-year-old said later. "Misjudgement on our side. Need to understand what happened as obviously the rain was coming and we should have just finished the lap. "It depends on the weather," he said of his prospects on Sunday. "I mean, I felt good out there. It's the first time in a while I've felt confident in the car. I felt more confident in the wet than I do in the dry, I don't really understand why that was. "I felt more like myself... unfortunately when it mattered we didn't execute." Russell took the first win of his F1 career at Interlagos in 2022. McLaren team boss Andre Stella acknowledged that the Briton was "probably the fastest car" in the third phase of qualifying. "I saw that he was not impeded, but he just found Albon, and he couldn't close his second lap on inters, which I think up until that point was on par with pole position, if not faster," Stella told reporters. (Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar) Source: Reuters Newsletter Recommended Read Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. Sign up for our newsletters Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Subscribe here Get the CNA app Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Download here Get WhatsApp alerts Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app Join here Advertisement Also worth reading Content is loading... Advertisement Expand to read the full story Get bite-sized news via a new cards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST