Qualifying for the Austrian GP they smile at the Mercedes. For the third consecutive race one W15 will start in the top three, demonstrating how excellent the work has been done at Brackley over the last month. George Russell will start in P3. His teammate, however, is in P5. The feeling is that tomorrow we will see a fight between Mercedes and Ferrari for the bottom step of the podium.
Lewis Hamilton, although behind his teammate, managed to resolve the balance problems and is aiming to fight for the podium. George Russell enthusiastic about the feeling with his W15.
Austrian GP, Russell: “The car is fantastic”
After conquering the second row, the former Williams driver is satisfied with the work done by the team: “The car is fantastic at the moment. The team has worked hard to bring these updates and it now seems that we have all it takes to fight, especially with Ferrari."
![Mercedes Austrian GP qualifications](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_0982.png)
“We are still a little behind McLaren, while Max and Red Bull were flying today. But we are definitely going in the right direction."
Russell confirms that changes were made to the bike after the sprint race set-up, also in view of tomorrow's race: “We changed the level of the wings, which helped a little and will help tire management for tomorrow. I'm very happy to be in P3 because we compromised qualifying for the race a bit."
On the start behind Verstappen and Norris, recalling today's sprint race, he ironically says that given that the two fought each other during the Sprint Race, he will watch them fight and will be ready to take advantage like Oscar Piastri did.
“Realistically speaking, they have more pace than us. Our race will probably be behind them, it's important not to compromise the race by fighting with those two."
Austrian GP, Hamilton satisfied with the balance of the W15
After experiencing balance problems during the sprint race, Hamilton managed to resolve them in the post Sprint Race, and he is certainly a candidate for the lowest step of the podium, barring major twists.
“I think that the result obtained is the one that best reflects reality. We couldn't fight with Verstappen, but we slotted in right behind. Well George will be third, while I will start from the third row. Nothing sensational, but a confirmation of our growth. We found a good balance."
For tomorrow's race, the seven-time world champion is aiming for the podium: “Having not been able to develop the usual race pace simulations, we don't know exactly what our pace will be. Today in the sprint race we saw an uncatchable Verstappen with the McLarens immediately behind. We'll see how the long-distance race develops, we'll try to fight for the podium."
Crediti foto: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team