George Russell: It could have been worse

      Both Mercedes drivers are not entirely satisfied with the qualifying results – however, their sentiments are accurately conveyed by George Russell's phrase in the headline: "It could have been worse."

      George Russell (5th): "I regret that everything turned out this way, and I am very disappointed that I only scored 5th, because I was quite comfortable driving all weekend. But it got a little cooler by the final of qualifying, so I tried to work with the tires a little differently, but nothing came of it in either of my two attempts.

      In general, it's not pleasant, but it's not so bad to start from the 5th position. Moreover, it may rain tomorrow, so anything can happen. All in all, I'm upset, but it could have been worse.

      Definitely, we are at about the same pace as the competitors who will start ahead of us in tomorrow's race, so we have every chance to compete for the podium. It's unlikely to win, but we'll fight for the podium. Besides, if the weather conditions change, as they did, for example, in Melbourne, then who knows what scenario the race will follow?

      And if it gets dry, then we definitely have the speed to claim a high result."

      Kimi Antonelli (6th): "I was driving more confidently over the weekend. I'm not going to lie, I had big problems in training, I didn't feel confident at all, primarily because I couldn't improve in any way.

      But we made a big step forward in qualifying, although I'm still a little upset about the fact that I had to take this step during qualifying. You usually feel confident in your abilities by the beginning of qualifying. And in my case, it didn't happen at all.

      I understand that I have to prepare better for the next race weekend and work more actively in training, trying to get closer to the limit of what is possible. Although, of course, Suzuka is not an easy track, and I have never raced here before, but still, training needs to be done more efficiently."