Russell: The team and I didn't understand each other.

      After qualifying George Russell said he wanted to get Medium tyres in the final session, but the team didn't understand him…

      George Russell (6th): "In the first part of qualifying we were fastest on Medium tyres. After the second part I told the team that I would like to use Medium in the final too, because I felt more comfortable on them.

      It's not the first time this season that Medium tyres are faster than Softs on some cars. I won't claim that I would have achieved more on Medium in the final, but I'm a bit irritated that we didn't try.

      The team and I misunderstood each other. Apparently I didn't express myself clearly enough. I said after the first session that I would like to use Medium, and after the second I repeated it. I asked if we would stick to the plan, and they said 'yes', but I thought the plan was that I'd get Mediums, and the team thought the plan was to use Softs. Both sides made a small mistake.

      Our race pace will probably be better than Ferrari's, but they're very quick on the straights, so we need to try to get past Leclerc at the start, otherwise we're in for a fairly long race behind him."

      Kimi Antonelli (7th): "This is a much better result than I've managed in qualifying recently. I had to make up for time lost in the first practice, so a top-ten starting place is a good result.

      We can be happy with how today went, although we know we could have achieved more.

      I didn't do my last lap very well, I think I could have started higher, but I'm still pleased with how the session went.

      The fight is very close, this weekend we are a little behind Ferrari in top speed because of our setup choices. We know overtaking here is not easy, but we have decent race pace. Hopefully on Sunday we can use it to fight back."