Nocturnal 
George Russell has admitted he’s got no idea why his Qualifying pace deserted him at the Sepang International Circuit, after a session that leaves him starting well down the field for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver could only manage eighth on the timesheets, which will become a seventh-place start once Isack Hadjar’s grid penalty is applied. Max Verstappen took a dominant pole position for Red Bull, while Russell’s Mercedes team-mate and title rival Kimi Antonelli qualified strongly further up the order.
It’s a particularly frustrating result given Mercedes arrived in Malaysia with what the team described as a significant upgrade package, and after Friday practice had already been flagged as one of the team’s “toughest” of the season.
“We don’t know, in all honesty,” Russell said when asked to explain what went wrong. “It’s the most demanding circuit on the tyres, so we don’t know exactly why we didn’t have the pace. I think from Friday it was clear we weren’t on the pace of the Red Bulls and then throughout the course of this weekend we just haven’t really progressed.”
“The others have caught up and overtaken,” he added, “but I think tomorrow the race is going to be a totally different story.”
A recurring theme for Russell this season
This isn’t the first time this year Russell has been left scratching his head over a qualifying shortfall. Earlier in the season, arriving in Monaco, he had actually been playing mind games with Antonelli, declaring the title was the 19-year-old’s “to lose” after the Canadian Grand Prix, where Russell retired from the lead.
But by the end of Monaco qualifying it was Russell admitting he was “scratching my head” after Antonelli took pole and he could only manage sixth. At that point he pointed to a difference in driving style between himself and Antonelli, saying his team-mate was “getting the tyres in a nicer window” over a lap.
Since then the gap has widened further. Antonelli now leads Russell by 66 points in the drivers’ championship, up from 43 after Monaco, underlining just how costly these qualifying slumps have become.
What happens next
Sunday’s race at Sepang is shaping up to be anything but straightforward. Tyre degradation has been the dominant talking point of the weekend, with all three compounds reportedly viable strategies and the possibility of unpredictable weather adding another layer of uncertainty.
Russell believes that combination could play into his hands after a disappointing Saturday. “Very high tyre degradation, all three tyre compounds look viable, so I think there will be some opportunities,” he said, before adding: “I think we can fight for the podium. I think I can move forward, but I really don’t know. It was a strange one out there today.”
For now, Russell starts seventh and Antonelli further up the grid, with Verstappen on pole looking to convert his advantage into victory. Whether Russell’s prediction of a “different story” on race day proves correct, and whether it’s enough to start clawing back that 66-point deficit to his team-mate, will become clear once lights out.
