Mercedes driver risked everything in Q3 in Montreal by going in on soft tires for the pole-position, but his strategy fell apart when he spun out at turn 1
George Russell tried hard, he even put himself as one of the pole-position candidates in the qualifying of the Canadian GP held this Saturday (18), but it didn't work. The eighth place achieved by the Briton from Mercedes was a bitter taste for someone who was in front almost the entire time.
Russell was the only one who risked entering Q3 with soft tires, trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat to get the first pole of his career. "High risk, high reward. That's how I feel about turn one. If it was as dry as the others, we could have been in a good position. That was my decision."
The Mercedes driver gave an assessment of his qualifying performance in Montreal. "My lap was only half a second behind fourth place. Our pace was very strong, but I said on the radio to the team that I'm not here to settle for a position like that, we need to try harder," George said.
The decision for soft tires caused astonishment to those who followed the practice session. Russell explained his choice of compound and that, in fact, he took a risk. The spin threw water on the Briton's plans to get out in front in Canada.
"I wouldn't be able to go into the pits and change tires to go again, it was too wet, there was only one dry line, but the two times I passed it was wet. There was openness and trust from the team, after all, I could have finished on pole or where we qualified," Russell said.
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