“We have nothing to lose!” George Russell spills the beans on Mercedes’ Qatar GP Sprint race plans

After qualifying on the front row for the Sprint race in Qatar, George Russell revealed his mindset that he would use heading into turn 1.

“We have nothing to lose!” George Russell spills the beans on Mercedes’ Qatar GP Sprint race plans

George Russell (via IMAGO)

After winning the last race in Las Vegas, George Russell became a three-time Grand Prix winner. With the Mercedes outfit finally showing some promising results, the Brit extracted the maximum out of the W15 and lined it up on the front row for the Sprint race in Qatar. Subsequently, he revealed his plans for the Sprint race as he would drive with an attitude of all or nothing.

Mercedes currently stand fourth in the constructors’ standings and does not have a chance at the title. On the other hand, they have a huge gap to Aston Martin below in the standings.

YouTube video

While some may reckon this as bad, certainly George Russell doesn’t think so. The 26-year-old secured P2 in qualifying for the Qatar GP Sprint race and has a great chance into turn 1 to take the lead away from his fellow friend Lando Norris. After the Sprint quali session, he asserted he had nothing to lose and would drive the same way.

We have nothing to lose, they are going for the championship, so we will try to have a good start.

George Russell said post Sprint qualifying

Russell’s case is further helped by the fact that Norris’ pole-to-lead conversion ratio is quite minimal. This sets him in the prime position to take the lead heading into turn one, but he might have to put a stern defense later on as the McLarens might hound him throughout the Sprint.

Toto Wolff gave George Russell the seal of approval

While some drivers were angry with their teams for messing up with the balance of the car, the W15 remained extremely stable. This gave Russell and in turn team supremo Toto Wolff the confidence that the Brit should drive like he’s got nothing to lose during the Sprint race.

Mercedes' George Russell and Toto Wolff
George Russell and Toto Wolff (via IMAGO)

Subsequently, the Austrian elucidated how Qatar is notoriously hard for overtaking, so having the lead is quite important. Meaning that whoever is the leader on the first lap, seemingly has the winners’ trophy in his pocket.

It’s about taking the lead. We don’t have a lot to loose. I think the cars are so close together on long runs, so it makes overtaking difficult.

Toto Wolff said post Sprint qualifying

On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton suffered another bad qualifying result (P7). This falls in line with his Mercedes being inconsistent throughout the 2024 campaign. For the Sprint race, Hamilton will try to get into the top five.