George Russell has credited team-mate Kimi Antonelli as a key factor in his drive to pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Russell entered the qualifying session in strong form after ending the final practice session just half a tenth off the pace.
The Briton dug deep in qualifying and hit the wall at the exit of Turn 17 on his first lap during Q3 to leap to the top of the timesheet.
During the second runs, nobody could usurp the Mercedes driver, who marginally improved his own lap time to solidify his seventh career pole.
“It's amazing to be on pole position,” Russell said.
“Yesterday was a very challenging day for many different reasons, but it's good to come back and get a good result.
“Of course, there's a long, sweaty race tomorrow, but I knew there was potential in the car.
“Kimi he was doing an amazing job all weekend, and I actually gained quite a lot from seeing what he was capable of doing yesterday afternoon.”
Russell has not yet finished on the podium in Singapore, and famously crashed out of the race in 2023 while chasing Carlos Sainz for the lead.
As he looks to stamp his name on the top step of the podium on Sunday, Russell is wary of the threat posed by Max Verstappen, who starts from second.
“Singapore has not been the kindest to me in the past, but that's been through my own doing the majority of the time,” Russell said.
“I'm not going to get carried away with this pole position, but of course, I'm in the best place to start.
“There's a good pole side advantage here, so I'd like to think I can hold the lead into Turn 1.
“But obviously this guy on my left is pretty good at race starts and sending it down the inside, so I'll be keeping an eye.”
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