Russell is "happy to be back in my groove" after a run of tough races
George Russell delivered a commanding and cathartic qualifying performance at the Circuit de Barcelona‑Catalunya, taking pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix and signalling a decisive return to form after several difficult weekends.
For the Mercedes driver, this pole was about far more than grid position — it was about rediscovering the confidence and clarity that had gone missing since Miami.
Russell was open about how much this session meant to him. “I’ve got to be honest, just really happy to be back in my groove over the course of the whole weekend,” he said.
“It’s been a difficult few races for me. Obviously bad luck, there have been some poor performances in there, but went back to an approach that I knew works for me this weekend, and more important than the pole position for me was just in sort of every lap of the whole weekend, you know, I was in the top two positions and I felt confident, I felt good. Just felt like my old self again.”
Even with Lewis Hamilton pushing him hard — and nearly stealing pole — Russell emphasised that the internal reset mattered more than the final result. “Regardless of what happened in Q3, you know, Lewis did a really amazing job and also could have got the pole position as well, but regardless, that was the most important thing for me this weekend.”
The turnaround came from a conscious decision to abandon recent experiments and return to fundamentals. “Car set‑up, mentality, just going back to basics really,” he explained.
“These cars are so complicated, the tyres are complicated, the power units are complicated, and it’s challenging to get on top of things. And, you know, especially when I’ve got a guy like this next to me who’s been performing so well, you’re trying to constantly improve, and I think that doing some copy‑pasting probably really put me on the back foot.”
Instead, Russell reverted to the approach that had served him well in previous seasons. “This weekend I’ve just gone in my own direction and that’s what I’ve done in the past for the last few years, and really glad to see it paying off.”
The feeling in the car, he said, was the best it has been since the early flyaway races. “It just feels back to what I felt at the start of the year during winter testing — Barcelona here, Bahrain testing, Melbourne, China.
"I felt really comfortable in the car, really happy. And Miami was just the first weekend where everything felt pretty challenging, and that’s where I think, I can accept, and with my direct group of engineers we can accept, we probably made some wrong decisions in these last three races.”
More than the pole itself, Russell was relieved to feel at one with the W15 again. “As I said, more than anything, more than this pole position, I’m just glad to feel myself again, feel at one with the car again, as I have done for the last few years.”
Looking ahead to his 100th Grand Prix start for Mercedes, Russell expects a fierce fight — not only from teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but also from Hamilton, whose pace surprised the entire garage.
“I think we have a really great race car, to be honest. We showed really great pace on Friday. Of course, Kimi is going to be a real threat, no doubt. But Lewis, I think, really surprised all of us with his strong pace today.
"We all thought the fight was going to be with the McLarens in qualifying. We made a step to McLaren, but then Lewis, from lap one in Q1, it was, ‘Well, where’s this come from?’ So maybe we’ll have a surprise tomorrow as well.”