George Russell fury after Mercedes call wrecks Sao Paulo GP pole bid

George Russell has aired his frustration as Mercedes' call to abort his Q3 lap in Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying he felt was good enough for pole.

The Briton ultimately took second on the grid in Sao Paulo after a lengthy rain delay of around 90 minutes, with Lando Norris sailing to a fourth pole of the season. 

Russell was 0.204s behind his fellow Briton Norris at the end, having been told by engineer Marcus Dudley to abort a lap after coming across the Williams of Alex Albon in the middle sector. 

Russell felt this lap was good enough for pole position, with incoming rain then stopping drivers from making any further improvements, with Russell set to drop to seventh after a five-place penalty is applied for a new ICE engine component.

Over the radio, Russell expressed his frustration, with Toto Wolff intervening. 

Russell: Mate, you fu**ing told me to back off! What the hell?

Wolff: George, you're P2.

Russell: P2? I don't want to be P2. I want to be P1.

Wolff: I know. I know.

Reflecting after stepping out of the car, Russell felt he should have just finished the lap he was on.

"That was definitely the pole lap, so [aborting] is a misjudgment on our side," Russell explained.

"I need to understand what happened, and the rain was coming, and we should have just finished the lap."

When then asked what was possible in the race from seventh, Russell explained his confidence in the W17 machine was growing in the wet.

"It depends on the weather, but I felt good out there," he said.

"It is the first time in a while I've felt confident in the car, and I felt more confident in the wet than I do in the dry. I don't really understand why that was.

"I felt more like myself, in the fight for pole every single lap, but unfortunately when it mattered, we didn't execute."