George ends the penultimate qualifying session of Formula One’s 2021 season in P14 ahead of the first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

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In the final practice session of the weekend, George opted to join the track 20 minutes into the session on a set of Soft compound Pirelli tyres to deliver his first flying lap of 1:31.096 to place him into P13 on the timings.

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George returned to the pits to switch to a fresh set of Soft tyres with only 22 minutes remaining.

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The Brit was able to put in a 1:30.034 lap time to end FP3 in P16 as he prepared for the evening’s qualifying session.

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In F2, George quickly joined the track on a set of the Soft tyres, wasting no time to put in his first run of a 1:30.893 lap time.

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With 11 minutes remaining in the session, George was sitting just outside of the elimination zone before pitting for a set of new Soft tyres, re-emerging in P16 as he began his fight to advance into Q2.

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In the final moments of the session, George was able to move himself up into P14 and into Q2.

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George continued to run Soft tyres into Q2 as he slotted himself into P4 on his first run with a 1:29.260 lap time.

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George pitted to switch to Medium tyres before re-joining the circuit with only six minutes remaining.

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In the final moments of the session, George began his final run as he attempted to move into Q3 but a late yellow flag prevented him from improving on his position as he ended the session in P14.

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George Russell – Williams Racing Driver‍

I was really happy with my lap in Q1 and was pleased to get through to Q2. We ran the medium tyre for the first time since FP1 in Q2 and again, I was pretty happy with my first lap but couldn’t improve on my second effort, running slightly wide in the middle sector. I am relatively satisfied with P14, but we are a bit further behind Alfa Romeo than we would want to be. It is tricky out there and getting the tyres in the right window is difficult, but I do believe that is about where our car is at the moment.
I think overtaking is going to be difficult in the Grand Prix but we will have to see on Sunday. Nobody knows how the tyres are going to react and the grip levels are pretty high. You can push relatively hard which is quite fatiguing but what we want to see in F1. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.

The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place at 5:30 pm GMT on Sunday, December 5.

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