George Russell: Fifth place is a fair result

      Mercedes racers in full force reached the final of the qualifying for the Shanghai sprint, showing fifth and seventh time. George Russell believes that the result corresponds to the speed of the car, and Kimi Antonelli complained that he failed to warm up the tires before the final attempt.

      George Russell (5th): "It was difficult to get the most out of the tyres during qualifying for the sprint. At one point in the second session, I even ended up outside the top ten, and in the next attempt, I came in second, although I drove about the same laps for both of them. This shows how minimal the gaps are today.

      I think fifth place is a fair result. I'm quite happy with my lap in the final, and I have a good starting position. It is always difficult to prepare for the sprint qualification, as we only have one hour of training at our disposal, so we can be satisfied with our efforts.

      Let's see how the events in the sprint and qualifying will develop. I was surprised by McLaren's problems in the final, but thanks to that, four different teams qualified in the top five. I definitely have a chance to win back some positions in the sprint – hopefully everything will work out."

      Kimi Antonelli (7th): "I was happy with the car throughout qualifying for the sprint. My lap in the second part turned out to be particularly fast, and I was hoping to add even more in the final.

      On the Soft compound, I had problems in the first sector – the tires were too cold due to the fact that I could not warm them up properly on the exit lap. But the plus is that this qualification went better than in Melbourne, and I continue to study.

      Let's see what we can do tomorrow. There's a lot of work to do when starting from seventh place, but today I felt comfortable and confident in the car. My pace on the Medium tyres was particularly good, and I hope to be quick on all the tracks in the remaining days of the weekend."