George Russell's Brazilian GP qualifying fury explained: "Pole was there for the taking"

Motorsport photoIn keeping with the theme of the Brazilian Grand Prix's weather-hit qualifying, George Russell had a thunderous look on his face when he faced the Formula 1 media in the post-session press conference.The title has gone and a five-place grid penalty for an engine swap meant Russell was never going to start on the front row on Sunday. But at the end of a challenging year, it was still mentally important to claim another pole - with or without grid penalty - if only to lay the foundations for a stronger 2027.Interlagos' frantic wet-weather qualifying gave Russell that opportunity. As conditions started to worsen again in Q3, Russell led the first salvo of runs on intermediates, and took four tenths out of Lando Norris' initial benchmark. Read Also: F1 Brazilian GP: Lando Norris takes pole in soaking wet qualifying Right after setting a lap which was good enough for provisional pole, his race engineer Marcus Dudley urged him to carry on for another lap before conditions worsened: "Push if you can, I think we'll get one more lap before this rain."Russell then caught the back of Alex Albon's Williams in the second sector, willing his friend out of the way: "Move, Albono!"But when Dudley suggested Russell would have the opportunity to start one more flyer, confusion set in and a quick call had to be made as he approached Turn 12, the tricky Juncao corner which saw numerous cars slide onto the wet grass.George Russell, Mercedes, Alexander Albon, WilliamsGeorge Russell, Mercedes, Alexander Albon, Williams"You need to tell me, mate, what I'm doing. Am I backing or going?" Russell said over the radio.The reply came instantly: "We can back up now, back up now," with an unconvinced Russell asking for confirmation.It was at that very moment that Norris crossed the line for a second timed lap, and took two tenths out of Russell's benchmark to snatch pole away. And with conditions worsening quickly, Russell realised the call to abandon his lap had been wrong, and a chance for a redeeming pole was gone.After all he had been through already this year, it was not something he took well."Mate, you fucking told me to back off. What the hell!" Russell vented. "George, you're P2," was an unsatisfactory intervention from team principal Toto Wolff, with Russell replying: "I don't want to be P2, I want to be P1. That was a P1 lap. Fucking hell."The short interval between parc ferme and the compulsory top-three press conference did little to dampen his disappointment."I think it was just a bit of miscommunication. I needed to speak with the team because we believed we'd get another lap before the rain came in," Russell explained. "I was on a really strong lap and I was asked to back off because I caught up with Albon and then obviously the rain came.George Russell, MercedesGeorge Russell, Mercedes"It was very disappointing. We need to understand how it happened and why we got that wrong. But I felt very strong the whole session. I definitely felt the pole was there for the taking."As soon as it was made, I think we knew it was the wrong one because already they could actually feel the rain pouring harder."Russell was keen to keep his race engineer out of the firing line, though, as such a split-second decision in mixed conditions is the product of an intricate web of teamwork in the garage."We can't point the finger at somebody. We need to understand why we made that decision and were our systems telling us what we needed to know because you're relying on the radar," he said."It's not my engineer's fault. He's ultimately the one who passes the message on, but he's got 12 people talking to him, giving him that information to relay. So we just need to understand why we made that decision."Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Wolff wasn't convinced Russell could have hung on to pole given conditions were getting markedly worse in Turn 12 than they had been for Norris just moments prior."You know, if we were to have a crystal ball to know whether you should back off or not, then that would be helpful," he said. "A difficult one, it's a 50-50 call.Toto Wolff, MercedesToto Wolff, Mercedes"He was running into Albon, was 18 milliseconds up on Norris at that stage, so I don't think it would have been enough for pole. But obviously he's driven perfectly all sessions and he merited to be on pole."Russell remained combative and wants Sunday to be in similar conditions as he starts from seventh instead of second. Team-mate Kimi Antonelli will line up alongside Norris instead after qualifying third, having been unable to match Russell's pace.Other frontrunners Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are starting from the rear of the field and are unlikely to be a factor, while Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri are starting in the middle of the pack."I felt really confident in the rain. I think my pace along with Lando's was by far the best out there," Russell declared. "I hope it is wet tomorrow. I feel I've got a greater chance if it's wet." Read Also: Lewis Hamilton insists Ferrari tensions with Charles Leclerc are over: "We've squashed it" To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.