Russell: Second place at the start gives you a great chance in the race

      George Russell qualified second in Bahrain, losing to pole holder Oscar Piastri by less than two tenths of a second. The Mercedes driver called the result unexpected, as he believed that the gap from McLaren would be greater.

      Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, which was the best result of his career.

      George Russell (2nd): "If someone had said that we would lose to McLaren by less than five tenths, we would have agreed with that, because we believed that we would take third place. In such a situation, the second place at the start is a bonus. Congratulations to Oscar – he had a great lap and now we are looking forward to the race.

      I think we have made progress thanks to the decrease in temperature in the evening. This afternoon, when it was very hot, the McLarens were way ahead of the rest, but as the session drew to a close, we got faster and faster.

      Second place at the start gives you a great chance in the race, but you have to be realistic – it will be difficult to compete with Oscar."

      The news is being updated