LAS VEGAS — In a race on a brutal time schedule for drivers, George Russell said a 45-minute power nap helped him secure pole for Mercedes at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Qualifying started at 10 p.m. local time, a schedule which has left a grid of jet-lagged drivers struggling to properly get to grips with their sleep patterns.
“I took a nap before qualifying,” Russell said. “Woke up a little bit drowsy and then made sure I was in peak condition come the end of qualifying.
“It’s really difficult, but we’re all in the same boat”.
Explaining it a bit further, Russell added: “I’d normally try and probably sort of meditate as opposed to sleep, just sort of close my eyes and listen to, I don’t know, waves crashing against the sea or breathing exercises. I sort of do like box breathing and works for me. It sort of relaxes my mind and takes a bit of pressure off.
“But yeah, today got probably 45 minutes. It’s just adapting every single weekend. When people ask me, like, what’s your race weekend routine, the routine changes every single weekend, depending on how you slept the night before, the circumstances you find yourself in. And obviously here, it’s so challenging for everyone being so offset, working night shift effectively. You know, for me, just sleeping when I can is working for me.”
Mercedes had topped every practice session leading into qualifying but at recent rounds had seen their performance relative to the rest drop at that stage of the weekend.
Russell ensured that was not the case this time around, taking his third pole of the year and Mercedes’ first since the British Grand Prix in July.
“Incredibly satisfying,” Russell said. “Especially knowing the car has been so quick all weekend, as a team, we’ve topped every single session. Nevertheless when you get to Q3, you know what’s happened beforehand has no influence whatsoever. So the pressure kind of is ramped up.”
On where the pace came from, Russell said: “I’d love to tell you to be honest. It’s been a real surprise for all of us, and it’s something that we need to really review, because this is an outlier circuit. We haven’t done anything out of the ordinary specifically for Vegas. But for whatever reason, the conditions, the layout is playing in our favour. And I’m kind of scratching my head as to why.”
Mercedes had looked to be in contention for a front-row lockout, but Russell’s teammate Lewis Hamilton failed to hook a lap up in Q3, finishing 10th.
“I just didn’t do the job, the car felt different in Q3 and stability was not there for some reason,” Hamilton said. “But I had it in other sessions. But ultimately, I didn’t put the laps together.”
Asked if it stung to have not converted Mercedes’ pace, the Ferrari-bound Hamilton said: “Not really, because I feel great. I wish I was on pole, George is on pole and it’s great for the team, it’s not a stinger.
“Look forward, I got three pops at it, two more pops in the next races and see how it goes. The good thing is I’ve got pace.”