George Russell has been involved in a war of words with the four-time world champion Max Verstappen after a needless incident in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
The British driver has stayed focused, and Russell stood up to Verstappen in the media in Abu Dhabi, which added some tension to the weekend.
Russell will be looking to end the season on a high after an impressive campaign and consistently beating his seven-time world champion teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
This may help him gain some confidence heading into 2025 when he is expected to lead the Mercedes team forward and win races alongside 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Russell was quick in qualifying, but former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle explained why the British driver had a slice of luck over the session.
George Russell was ‘slightly lucky’ to avoid a penalty after an incident with Liam Lawson
The opening stages of qualifying are very frantic with an 18-minute session and 20 cars on the track looking to advance with one of the top 15 times.
Drivers often slow down in the final few turns of the lap to prepare for the flying lap and create a gap to the cars in front on the track.
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Lawson was on a quick lap but encountered traffic at the final turn, which included Russell and got held up slightly. The RB driver had to approach the final corner towards the middle of the track which cost him time.
Russell stayed on the racing line but was wary of going off the track which would have deleted his next flying lap time.
Brundle explained the incident was marginal, and Russell may have had some fortune to avoid a penalty at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He said on Sky Sports F1 (7/12 2:32): “Russell will be relieved. I think slightly lucky to get away with no further investigation for the block in the first, or the non-block, as it turns out, in the first part of qualifying.”
George Russell will have a difficult task to stand on the podium in Abu Dhabi
Russell qualified in seventh place for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will make life slightly more difficult during the 58-lap race to score a podium.
He lacked the raw speed to match the McLaren’s in particular who locked out the front row of the grid with Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri.
Hamilton ran over a bollard in Q1 which prevented him from improving and getting into the second part of qualifying.
Russell will be looking to end the season on a good note at a track where Mercedes have had little success in the ground-effect era.
