Russell: Mercedes' instruction cost him pole position

Russell put in an impressive lap in qualifying at Interlagos, in difficult wet conditions. However, after the first runs in Q3, he was 0.4 seconds ahead of Norris, but he lost pole position to him by 0.2 seconds.

Mercedes told Russell to abort his second lap. The reason was that he was stuck behind Williams driver Alex Albon. The team believed Russell still had time for one more lap, but the rain soon intensified, and in the remaining seven minutes of the session, no one could set a faster lap.

Russell reacted angrily to the instruction over the radio. He argued that, regardless of the time he had lost behind Albon, he could have beaten Norris's time. The driver said it was a communication error and that he would speak with the team.

Russell was not going to start from pole anyway, as he had taken a five-place grid penalty for using a new internal combustion engine. He will start the Sunday race from seventh. When asked whether he had considered overriding the instruction, he said the team had the weather forecast and he did not, and he stressed that in situations like this, the team has to be trusted.