SILVERSTONE, England — After securing pole position for the British Grand Prix ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, George Russell said Mercedes could never have dreamed of such a strong showing at the start of the season.
Russell beat Hamilton to pole by 0.171 seconds, with McLaren's Lando Norris in third, 0.040 seconds further back.
Mercedes started the season fighting for a top six grid position but a series of car improvements since the Monaco Grand Prix have closed the gap on rivals Red Bull and McLaren.
“This is definitely one of the best feelings I've ever had on a Saturday afternoon,” Russell said.
“The car was crazy and in Q3 it really came to life.
“Without a doubt, one of the best feelings I've had driving this circuit, and crossing the finish line, seeing my name P1 and seeing that we're both on the podium. [Russel and teammate Hamilton] “On the front row, we couldn't even have dreamed of it after the first three or four races.”
Despite setting the fastest lap, Russell said the previous elimination sessions in qualifying were heart-stopping situations from inside the cockpit.
Qualifying started in the wet and then the dry, with the fastest times in both Q1 and Q2 being set right at the end of the sessions.
Mercedes had planned to save two fresh sets of soft tyres from Russell's allocation for Q3, but in doing so it increased the pressure not to make a mistake.
“In the third quarter we really got through it, because the first and second quarters were very, very difficult,” he added.
“Going into Q3 was probably the most pressure I've ever felt in a qualifying session, because throughout the entire Q1 and Q2 sessions, I felt like I was on the brink of elimination every time.
“I wasn't feeling very confident, but as soon as I got through Turn One and Turn Two in Q3 I felt good and managed to get a lap done.”
