P1racenews AI automatic summary:
George Russell has quipped that a near miss with Max Verstappen on the out lap prior to his last qualifying run cost him pole position at F1’s Qatar Grand Prix.
“Russell initially took the provisional pole position, but Verstappen managed to edge him out by 0.055 seconds at the last moment. However, Verstappen’s one-place grid drop for an incident during the session altered the starting grid. Russell had to take evasive action on his out lap to avoid a slow-moving Verstappen, which led to him running wide onto the gravel. Despite the setback, Russell considered his initial lap strong but failed to improve in the final attempt. Despite the challenges in qualifying, Russell expressed satisfaction with his recent front-row starts and Mercedes’ improved performance on smoother tracks. Verstappen’s pole position removal gave Russell consecutive poles, and he remains optimistic about Mercedes’ competitive prospects in the upcoming race.”
