George ends qualifying in P15 ahead of Formula One’s second Sprint weekend at the Italian Grand Prix.

In FP1, George began the session on the Hard compound Pirelli tyres and put in his first flying lap to take him into P15.

30 minutes into the session, the Brit had dropped into P20 but was able to improve back into P15 with only 15 minutes remaining.

George ended FP1 in P17 ahead of qualifying.

Due to the Sprint format, the final session of the day was qualifying ahead of the Sprint on Saturday afternoon.

In Q1, George was quick to take to the track on the Soft compound tyres, placing himself into P4 in the early stages of the session.

As the rest of the field began setting their flying laps, George was knocked down into P12 and, with nine minutes remaining, he returned to the pits.

With only five minutes remaining, George returned to that track to boost himself out of P17 and the Q1 elimination zone.

As the chequered flag waved, George was placed in P16 and out of qualifying. However, a lap-time cancellation for the Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda promoted George into P15 and through to Q2.

In Q2, George was able to put in a 1:21:392 lap time to take him into P14 in the early stages of the session.

With only seconds remaining, the rest of the field delivered their final flying laps and George was moved into P15 and out of Q2.

The Brit will start the Sprint from P15 on the grid.

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George Russell – Williams Racing Driver
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It has been a really tricky day, and we aren’t quite as competitive here as we would have hoped. Since we hit the ground with FP1 we weren’t in the right window with the car and that really compromises you on a weekend like this. We did a really good job executing qualifying though and the team got me in the right position on track, but today just wasn’t meant to be. I think we are in a better position for the Sprint Qualifying tomorrow than we were today, but generally I think it’s going to be a tough weekend. However, we need to build momentum and see what we can achieve.

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FP2 for the Italian GP will begin at 11am BST on Saturday September 11.