Toto Wolff: Kimi and George have good chances in the race.

Toto Wolff: Kimi and George have good chances in the race.

      In qualifying in Baku Kimi Antonelli beat George Russell — the team are pleased with his performance…

      Toto Wolff, team principal: "A tough qualifying that left us a little disappointed with the result. Some of our closest rivals dropped out of contention, and we didn't take full advantage of that.

      We decided to fit the drivers with different tyres in the final session, but in the end neither of them felt they got the maximum out of them. It's frustrating, but 4th and 5th give Kimi and George good chances to fight for a strong result in the race.

      Points are awarded on Sunday, so let's not get ahead of ourselves, but it's nice to see how Kimi is performing this weekend. He drove a clean session and, where others were struggling, kept his cool. George, meanwhile, has been battling illness but has continued to put in strong performances. That's typical of his character — he's determined to finish the job with a good result tomorrow, regardless of how he feels."

      Kimi Antonelli (4th): "Qualifying was difficult for everyone. A strong wind was a problem, and because of the rain the white lines were as slippery as ice. In such conditions it's hard to know how aggressively you can attack, and the constant pauses because of red flags only made things worse. In qualifying you need to find your rhythm, but today that was impossible.

      For the final attempt we decided to put on Medium tyres, but I couldn't get them up to the right temperature because the track was cold and slippery. In addition, I lost a few tenths due to a gust of wind in the final corner. Without those losses I could have been on the front row. It's a shame we couldn't do more, but we have a decent starting position for tomorrow. I hope we can fight for a top-three spot."

      George Russell (5th): "Crazy qualifying. Fifth place isn't the maximum result we could have achieved today, but it gives a good starting position for tomorrow. That's even more important when you see the problems some rivals had and the positions they'll be starting from in the Grand Prix.

      It wasn't only the wind and the rain, which swapped several times, that made the session difficult. We used Medium tyres for the first time, which we hadn't used earlier this weekend. They helped a lot in the first two sessions, but when the track cooled and the rain started we decided to put Softs on for the final attempt. That was probably the right call, but I couldn't get the most out of the lap because I went out for the attempt one of the first, when the track was a bit more slippery.

      Personally, I haven't felt 100% fit this weekend. That made today even tougher, but I hope to rest this evening and recover so I can come back fighting tomorrow in better shape and, hopefully, challenge for the podium."

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Toto Wolff: Kimi and George have good chances in the race.

In qualifying in Baku, Kimi Antonelli outqualified George Russell — the team is pleased with his performance...