George Russell said he was glad he risked running a set of soft tyres as the track dried in the closing stages of Q3, despite the crash with left him eighth on the grid.
The Mercedes driver was the only one of the 10 competitors in Q3 to risk changing to slick tyres. Team mate Lewis Hamilton suggested it to his team, but was sent out on intermediates. Fernando Alonso asked if any drivers were running on slicks and was told the Mercedes pair were running on intermediates.
However Russell had decided to switch to slick tyres, having noticed how quickly the track had dried at previous rounds.
“I was surprised in Monaco how quickly it transitioned,” he said. “I was surprised on other occasions how quickly it transitioned.
“It just takes half a dry line and everything changes. I think half the track was totally dry. Another quarter of the track there was a small dry line and then the last quarter which was turn one and two, it was just on its way. It just takes one corner. But at the end of the day, we’re here to fight for more.”
Russell skidded off at turn two on his first full lap on the slicks and damaged the rear of his car against a barrier. He said he was trying to prepare his lap for a final push at the end of the session. “I realised it was going to be very tricky but I thought with a warm-up lap that last lap may have been the one.”
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“I’m glad I went for it because it could have paid off,” he added. “I want to fight for pole position. I’m not here to settle for P3, P4.
“I think we had a good car today. I saw the dry line appearing and it only takes one corner to let you down and for me that was turn one and two.”
Last year Russell took a surprise third on the grid for the Russian Grand Prix in similar circumstances. “It happened last year in Sochi when I was one of three drivers to go from inters to slicks and I qualified P3 with a Williams,” he said. “So it’s high risk, high reward. It didn’t pay off today but the race is tomorrow.”
However he admitted that in retrospect he would have been better off pitting at the end of his out-lap on slicks and switching back to intermediates. However, after he damaged his car “it was too late to come into the pits,” he said.
“In hindsight I probably should have pitted after the out lap back to inters and that would have given me one lap at the end to go for it.”
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