Russell: Sometimes it's hard to understand what's going on.

      Mercedes driver George Russell admitted that he does not understand the reasons for the shifts in the pecking order over the course of the season…

      George Russell: "Sometimes it's hard to understand what's going on. In Hungary Verstappen was forty seconds behind the winner, and in Monza he suddenly won the race with a 20-second margin. I don't understand what caused such a sharp swing in the results.

      In qualifying the times are still very close; if on Saturday you are a tenth faster or a tenth slower, that can cost you one or two positions in the race.

      We, as usual, finished 12 seconds behind McLaren; nothing has changed for us. The Ferraris were traditionally quick – the changes in the pecking order only occurred at the front of the field.

      After the start I enjoyed fighting with Charles, but Ferrari had a straight-line speed advantage, which made my task more difficult. It quickly became clear that the best possible result for us was fifth place."