Mercedes enjoyed a fruitful qualifying session for the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix🐟 with both cars in the top five - but it 🌞could have been better.

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:George Russell, who will line up third on Sunday in Jeddah, and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is fifth, both admitted 🌱to errors in qualifying which cost them time.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri start ahead of Russell, who is aiming for back-to-back podiums after lඣast weekend in Ba꧅hrain.

George Russell points out error in Saudi Arabia qualifying

“We were on the wrong end of the top three,” 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Sky Sไports after qualify𒉰ing in Saudi Arabia.

“There was nothing in it.

“The car seems🧸 to be stable now. A good platform to work with.

“Realistically, the 🍸McLarens are in a different league on the long runs.

“But in 🦹McLaren we were much closer, 𝓀so let’s see what happens…”

Russell had “mixed feelings” then explained his conundrum: “I went conservative on my out-lap wi🍌th my tyres.

“It was 🍒my one and only lap so I had no bank on the board. I felt that 💟if I made a small mistake at Turn 1, or a lock-up, I’d be down in P10!

“Usually on your last lap in Q3 you are fully, fully sending i✤t.

“I thought ‘I need to♛ go hotter with my tyres to ensure there 🤪are no mistakes at Turn 1’.

“It 𒆙cost me in the last sector. I lost a tenth-and-a-half.

“Around here, you are so close to a mis♐take. P3 is probably m🌸ore than we could have hoped for.”

Russell was asked to predict how Sunday’s racജe will play out, from behind Verstappen and Piastri. The championship leader Lando Norris is 10th due🧸 to a crash in qualifying.

Russell said: “Nob🦩ody has touched the hard tyres this weekend. Nobody knows if it’s a one-ꦯstop or two-stop.

“The hard this year is last 🍒year’s medium. Everyone is softer.

“The medium didn’t look good in race pace, ther𒁏e was a lot of degr๊adation.

“If Oℱscar gets into the lead, I think he’ll c🦩lear off. If Max stays in the lead, it will be an interesting one.

“You ca🐟n be confident that Lando will start on the hard tyres so he will go long. A timely Safety Car could play⛎ into his hands.

“The truth ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚis: I don’t know. I want to be consistent, keep getting points and 👍being on the podium.

“But if there’s a chancꦑe to do a bold undercut or go lo෴ng, we’ll try to take it.”

Mistake costs Kimi Antonelli in Saudi Arabia

Teenage rookie Antonelli was🗹 left gutted despite ಞqualifying fifth.

It demonstrated the huge strides൲ that Lewis Hamilton’s replacement has alre🅷ady made in just the fifth F1 round of his career.

Wolff noticed: “Kimi made a mistake or he would hav🌄e been two tenths quicker.”

Anton♍elli added: “I am a bit disappointed because, on the last lap, I did𒅌 a mistake.

“Overall, still a decent performance with P5.

“We have had a good start to the season. Last weekendꦜ was disappointed but it has been good progressing weekend-to-weekend.”

Antonelli had driven in Saudi Arไabia as a Form꧅ula 2 driver but insists that experience did not prepare him for F1.

“It’s like night and day,” he said.

“In F1, Sector 1 is impressive. Even after doing three sessions, the first lap♉ at night feels really fast.

“It’s not easy, the walls get closer and closer as you get ꧟quicker.

It’s also about finding the right confidence.

“Qualifying is very mentally demanding especially as you progress. “You try to push more every lap. It takes a lot of mental effort, espec🔯ially i🍬f you have long waits with a red flag or between sessions. You lose rhythm.

“Mercedes has helped me massively. I have been 💦with♒ them since 2018 so I feel like a part of the family.

“Going into a season knowing everyone reallyᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤🌳⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ helps. They don’t put pressure on me.”

Antonelli said about Sunday’s grand prix: “I don’t want to s✃ay a target because last week it went badly!”