'Some things aren’t making sense' Russell perplexed by Ferrari sprint pole after disappointing Silverstone result

George Russell was confused by Lewis Hamilton's sprint pole-winning pace at Silverstone, with the Mercedes driver having expected to have the edge over Ferrari this weekend. 

Hamilton put in a stunning lap to secure the third sprint pole of his career on Friday at the British Grand Prix. Although championship-leader Kimi Antonelli was second for Mercedes, Russell lagged behind in fifth place, with Max Verstappen and and Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, also ahead of the Briton.

“I’m very surprised [by Ferrari]," said Russell. "They’ve been on the back foot with the PU and energy management, and here they look the best at the moment, so that’s been a real surprise. 

"We’ve always known they have a great chassis, but I think some things aren’t quite making sense. If I were to have predicted, I would have said Ferrari would be quick last week and us to be quick this week. Obviously, Kimi did a great job, but still, Ferrari has had the upper hand all day.” 

Hamilton topped practice earlier on Friday, but was unsure that his pace would carry across into sprint qualifying, with teams rarely showing a full hand in the non-competitive sessions.

Russell added: “It’s kind of the story of the year, to be honest. Always on the back foot. Usually, come Q3, I can generally make a step. Today, that was not quite the close. It was very close to P3, but still very much off the pace of Lewis and Kimi, so I need to try and understand why that is. It’s a bit strange.”

Kimi Antonelli regrets leaving time 'on the table' in sprint qualifying

Antonelli missed out on sprint pole by 0.011s from Hamilton, and while a front row starting position offers the chance to go wheel-to-wheel through the switch-back first sector, the Italian was left frustrated by time left on the track. 

“It was so, so close, and it was a shame," he said. "To be fair, SQ1 I felt a bit bad, I didn’t feel great in the car, but then we made a slight balance adjustment and SQ2 felt night and day, and we suddenly were back on the pace.

“SQ3 there was a little bit left on the table, but it was a decent lap, and unfortunately super close to Lewis. But congrats to him, and on our side we’ll focus on tomorrow now."

Asked if he can fight for the win on Saturday, Antonelli added: “Of course. We’ll go for it and we’ll try to do our best. It’s not going to be easy, but everything is on the table to do well.”