“Verstappen is driving in an erratic manner,” George Russell left annoyed by Max Verstappen in Baku

“Verstappen is driving in an erratic manner,” George Russell left annoyed by Max Verstappen in Baku

In the first qualifying session, George Russell complained on the radio about Max Verstappen's driving.

The qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is over. The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will be starting 5th and 7th on the grid respectively, with Pierre Gasly in between them. Charles Leclerc took his fourth pole position in a row and will be joined on the front row by Sergio Perez – winner of the last race in Baku.

When the session had just begun, Russell was slightly frustrated by Max Verstappen’s driving. Speaking on the radio, he said:

“Verstappen is driving in an erratic manner.”

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Some fans thought it was a very ‘posh’ complaint from the British driver. While other drivers may have been more informal, Russell seemed to have chose his words very carefully.

Others thought it was a very ‘British’ thing to do of Russell.

Also Read: “Have reached seven races without my being able to get a victory”: George Russell talks about not yet winning a Grand Prix in his Mercedes

Russell’s thoughts following the qualifying session

George Russell
George Russell will hope to get another solid haul of points in the championship.

George Russell will be starting in the top 5. In all previous races, he has finished within the top 5 of the racing classification. This is an impressive statistic, as the Mercedes is only the third fastest car on the grid. While helped by a bit of luck, Russell has been fantastic all season.

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Talking after the qualifying session, George Russell didn’t think it was a ‘perfect’ session. He said:

“It felt okay. It wasn’t perfect.”

He further elaborated on how the car felt, and how progress will be made. “Every lap we do on a new track, we’ll learn more about the car. They’re not easy beasts to control.“

“We’re doing everything we can to gain more information and make some steps forward, but it’s seemingly a bit more difficult at the moment.”

“But we work as hard as we can to get on top of this, and find the performance. P5 was the maximum today, so, silver lining.”

Being asked about the bouncing of the W13, Russell answered:

“It’s fatigue and it’s probably damaging on the body, and I’ve been battered and bruised from the past two days.”

“It’s not easy, but it’s what we have got to live with.”

The Mercedes cars have struggled with porpoising and bouncing for the vast duration of the season, and it may have hampered their car development as well – because the porpoising was so severe, they had to focus more on it. However, there is also the fact that the porpoising and bouncing are made worse because the W13 has a naturally stiff suspension.

Also Read: “I’ve been reasonably pleased,” George Russell settles with the results considering Mercedes’ pace

Also Read: Azerbaijan GP: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell give verdicts on Friday