Russell rues missed Imola pole chance after troubled final lap start

Russell: Traffic Cost Chance at Imola Pole

George Russell believes traffic at the start of his final flying lap in qualifying may have cost him a shot at pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver will start third on Sunday.

Russell finished nearly two tenths behind polesitter Oscar Piastri and 0.137 seconds shy of second-placed Max Verstappen. He set his fastest lap on the medium Pirelli tire, as the new soft C6 compound struggled for performance.

The Briton started his lap late, crossing the line with mere seconds remaining. He was compromised exiting the final corner due to traffic from Carlos Sainz (Williams) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), which affected his exit speed.

"I lost about a tenth down the straight because I had to make a gap to Sainz and then Lance was coming through and I was in first gear starting the lap with wheelspin," Russell said. "I was like, 's*** I've already lost it!' But P3 was a good result."

Russell has continued his strong start to the season, consistently finishing in the top five for the last six Grands Prix, with four podiums.

Regarding his chances for Sunday's race, Russell stated: "It's my job to drive this car as fast as possible and I feel this season I've been doing a solid job. I still feel there's room to improve with myself but my goal is to get the best result possible, week in and week out."

He believes he has only underperformed in two sessions this season: Japan and Miami. "Miami I was just off the pace but P3 again was the maximum."

Meanwhile, Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli struggled, qualifying 13th. "I just really struggled, I couldn't really extract any grip out of the tyres and it was difficult out there," said the Italian. "Especially compared to practice, was a lot different and I struggled to get into the rhythm and to find the grip out there. Of course is a shame to come away with P13 because obviously it is difficult to overtake here."