Russell turns attention to Verstappen after surprise pole

George Russell admits he was surprised to secure pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix after struggling early in the weekend, but is wary of Max Verstappen’s threat at the start.

McLaren was expected to return to form in Singapore but it was Mercedes that set the pace in qualifying, with Russell completing two impressive laps that were both good enough for pole position. That came despite a crash in FP2 on Friday, and Russell says he had to work hard to find the performance he needed on Saturday.

• QUALIFYING REPORT: Russell edges Verstappen for Singapore GP pole

“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 today. Of course, there’s a long, sweaty race tomorrow, but I knew there was potential in the car.

“Kimi [Antonelli] was doing an amazing job all weekend, and I actually gained quite a lot from seeing what he was capable of doing yesterday afternoon. So very happy to be on pole – it was great.

“Some weekends you just hit the ground running a bit sooner. Other times you don’t. I've found this weekend quite strange. The grip has been really high from the tarmac, but the cars have been sliding quite a lot. It feels a bit reminiscent of Miami, where it's really high grip but the car is sliding.

“I just didn't have much confidence in myself, and obviously the crash yesterday set me back again. But I always sort of remind myself, it doesn't matter what happens on Friday. It's Q3 when it counts.”

Russell admits he was predicting a strong McLaren heading into the race weekend, rather than securing a front-row start alongside title outsider Verstappen.

“We know the McLarens are usually exceptionally good on their tires in the hot conditions. I think we've all been a little bit surprised at their sort of lack of pace this weekend. We were probably all expecting them to run away with it, and we certainly didn’t anticipate being in the fight for pole position here.

“So, not sure going into tomorrow. I'm the only driver who hasn't done a long run, so that doesn't play into my favor. But, of course, overtaking is challenging here. Races have been a bit of a one-stop recently, but now with the 80 km/h speed limit in the pit lane, it probably brings it closer to a two now.

“Singapore has not been the kindest to me in the past, and that's been through my own doing the majority of the time. So I'm not going to get carried away with this pole position. Of course, it's 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 [Verstappen] is pretty good at race starts and sending it down the inside. So I'll be keeping an eye.”