Russell, whose fortunes contrasted dramatically with those of team-mate and pole winner Lewis Hamilton, admitted that he was hampered badly by visitors.
He was caught out as he tried to start out his lap within the first a part of qualifying, noting that the gentleman’s settlement about drivers not passing one another was not revered by a few of his rivals.
“My complete session was on observe on the flawed time, flawed factors, taking approach an excessive amount of threat as a workforce,” he stated when requested by Autosport after his tough session.
“The automotive was so fast, we did not have to gas for one lap and go proper on the finish and in a great deal of visitors, however I used to be making an attempt to respect the gentleman’s settlement and bought overtaken by a few automobiles, most notably Pierre [Gasly], who overtook me on the closing nook.
“I used to be three tenths down earlier than I even began, and the lap was gone. So not going accountable any of the drivers, we’re all preventing for ourselves. As a workforce, we must always have executed a significantly better job.”
Requested if he thought the gentleman’s settlement was not legitimate, he stated: “I do not assume that it was ever actually there, to be trustworthy, and in all truthfully I most likely would have executed the identical if I used to be of their footwear.
“You have to battle for your self. However the observe is sufficiently big, it is 4.5km lengthy and we’re utilizing an area of 1 kilometre with 10 automobiles, so we simply have to look within the mirror and recognise that we made a giant cock up at present.”
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG
Photograph by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Russell stated he wasn’t involved concerning the new problem of getting to qualify on the arduous tyre in Q1.
“Of all of the tracks, this was the one the place it’s most likely most simple,” he stated. “This yr’s arduous is final yr’s medium.
“So and it is clearly so sizzling on the market, that the arduous is working advantageous. It will have been a special story in Imola for instance, and I do not know the place the subsequent occasion is [Monza], however once more will probably be a special story.”
Russell echoed the emotions of different drivers whereas acknowledging that there was much less observe working below the choice tyre allocation system.
“I believe for qualifying it is good however with the shortage of working in FP1 and FP2,” he stated. “It is worse for the followers, and we have to discover a higher resolution as a result of the followers pay some huge cash to come back and watch on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
“If we’re doing solely 60% of the laps in comparison with what we used to do, they’re getting much less for his or her cash, so we have to discover a higher resolution.”