Mercedes enjoyed a fruitful qualifying session for the F1 Saudi Arab꧟ian Grand Prix with both cars in the top five - but it could have been better.

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell, who will line up third on Sunday in Jeddah, and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is fifth, ꦗboth admitted to errors in qualifying which cost them time.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren⛦’s Oscar Piastri start ahead of Russell, who is aiming for back-to-back podiums after last weekend in Bahrain.

George Russell points out error in Saudi Arabia qualifying

“We were on the wrong end of the top three,” 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Mercedes team 🉐principal Toto Wolff to♏ld Sky Sports after qualifying in Saudi Arabia.

“There was nothing in it.

“The car seems to be stable now. A good platform to work wiꩵth.

“Realistically, the𝐆 McLarens are in a different league on the long runs.

“But in McLaren we were much ℱcloser, so let’s see what happens…”

Russell had “mixed feelings” then 𒆙explained ꧟his conundrum: “I went conservative on my out-lap with my tyres.

“It was my one and only lap so I had no bank on the board. I fel🍒t that ifꦺ I made a small mistake at Turn 1, or a lock-up, I’d be down in P10!

“Usually on your last lap in Q3 you are fully, fully sending𓆏 it.

“I thought ‘I need 💦to go hotter with my tyres to ensure there are no mistakes at 𝕴Turn 1’.

“It cost me in the last sector. I lost a te🐓nth-and-🔴a-half.

“Around here, you are so ꧋close to a mistake. P3 is probably more t🍒han we could have hoped for.”

Russell was asked to predict 🐲how Sunday’s race will play out, from behind Verstappen and Piastri. The championship leader Lando Norris is 10th due to a crash in qualifying.

Russell said: “Nobody has touched the hard tyres this weekend.�♐� Nobody knows if it’s a one-stop or two-stop.

“The hard🍎 this year is last year’s medium. Everyone is softer.

“The medium didn’t look good in race pace, ꦅthere was a lot of degradation.

“If Oscar gets into the lead, I think he’🍌ll clear off. If Max stays in the lead, it will be an interesting one.

“You can be confident🐻 that Lando wiꩵll start on the hard tyres so he will go long. A timely Safety Car could play into his hands.

“The truth is: I donꦫ’t know. I want to be cons▨istent, keep getting points and being on the podium.

“B🥂ut if there’s a chance to do a bold undercut or go long, we’ll try to take it.”

Mistake costs Kimi Antonelli in Saudi Arabia

🐼Teenage rookie Antonelli was left gutted despite qualifying fifth.

It demonstrated the huge strides that Lewis Hamilton’s replacement has already made in just the fift♊h F1 round of his career.

Wolff noticed: “Kimi made a🍌 mista𝐆ke or he would have been two tenths quicker.”

Antonelli addꦜed: “I am a bit🌸 disappointed because, on the last lap, I did a mistake.

“Overall, still a decent performance with P5.

“We have had a good start to the season. Last weekend was disappo🍸inted but it has been good progressing weekend-to-weekend💜.”

Antonelli haಞd driven in Saudi Arabia as a Formula 2 driver but insists that experience did notꦬ prepare him for F1.

“It’s like night and day,” he said.

“In F1, Sec🌃t🍷or 1 is impressive. Even after doing three sessions, the first lap at night feels really fast.

“It’s not easy, the walls get closer and closer a𝄹s you get quicker.

It’s also about finding the right confidence.

“Qualifying is very mentally demanding especially as you progress. “You try to push more every lap. It takes a lot of mental effort, especially if you have long waits with a red flag or between sessions. You lose rhyth𝐆m.

“Mercedes has helped me massively. I have been with them since 2018 so I 💫feel like a part of the family.

“Going into a season𒈔 knowin൩g everyone really helps. They don’t put pressure on me.”

Antonelli said about Sunday’s grand prix: “I don’t want to say a target because♏ last week it went badly!”