Mercedes enjoyed a fruitful qualifying session for the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with both cars in the top five - but it could have beenಌ better.

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell, who will line up third on Sunday in Jeddah, and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is f🍒ifth🧸, both admitted to errors in qualifying which cost them time.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Pi🍷astri start ahead of Russell, who is aiming for back-to-back podiums after last weekend in Bahrain.

George Russell points out error in Saudi Arabia qualifying

“We were on the wrong end of the top three,” 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told S🃏ky Sports after qualifying in Sa⛦udi Arabia.

“There was nothing in it.

“The ca🦹r seems to be stable now. A good platform to work with.

“Realiꦜstically, the McLarens are in a different league on th🌳e long runs.

“But in McLaren we ﷺwere much closer, so let꧂’s see what happens…”

Russell had “mixed feelings” then explained his conundrum: “I went conservative on my out-lap with my🍸 tyres.

“It was my one and only lap so I had🍬 no bank on the board. I felt that i༒f I made a small mistake at Turn 1, or a lock-up, I’d be down in P10!

“Usually on your last lap in Q3 you are fully, f🔜ully sendin𒐪g it.

“I thou🙈ght ‘I need to go hotter with my tyres to ensure there are no mistakes at Turn 1’🍸.

“It cost me in t🥂he last sector. I lost a tenth-and-a-half.

“Around here, ༺you are so close to a mistake. P3 is probably more𒐪 than we could have hoped for.”

Russell was asked to predict how Sunday’s race will play out, from behind Verstappen and Piastri. Thℱe championship leader Lando Norris is 10th due to a crash in qualifying.

Rus♕sell said: “Nobody has touched the hard tyres this weekend. Nobody knows if it’s a one-stop or tw⛎o-stop.

“The hard this year is last y൲e🐓ar’s medium. Everyone is softer.

“The medi🅺um didn’t look good in race pace, there was a lot of deg🌳radation.

“If Oscar gets int💝o the lead, I think he’ll clear off. If Max stays in the lead, it will be an interesting one.

“You can be confident that Lando will start on thꦏe hard tyres so he will go long. A timely Safety Car could play into his hands.

“The truth is: I don’t know. I want to be consistent, keep getting point🌄s and being on the podium.

“But if there’s a chance to do a bold undercut or go long, we’ll try to tak﷽e it.”

Mistake costs Kimi Antonelli in Saudi Arabia

Teenage rookie Antonelli wa𒆙s🌄 left gutted despite qualifying fifth.

It demonstrated the huge strides 😼🎶that Lewis Hamilton’s replacement has already made in just the fifth F1 round of his career.

Wolff noticed: “Kimi made a mistake or he wo♛uld have been two t🔯enths quicker.”

Antonelli added: “I am a bit dis⛦appointed because, on the last lap, I did a mistake.

“Overall, still a decent performance with P5.

“We have had a good start to the season. Last weekend was disappointed but it has been good progressing weekend-to-weeke🎉nd.”

Antonelli had driven in Saudi Arabia as a Formula 2 driver but insists th♍at experience did not prepare him for F1.

“It’s like night and day,” he said.

“In F1, Sector 1 is impressive. Even a🐷fter doing three sessions, the𒀰 first lap at night feels really fast.

“It’s not easy, the wa🔯lls get𒅌 closer and closer as you get quicker.

It’s also about finding the right confidence.

“Qualifying is very mentally demanding especially as you progress. “You try to push more every lap. It takes a lot of mental effort, especially if you have long waits with a red flag or between sessions. You lose rhytಌhm.

“Mercedes has helped me massively. I have been with them si🥂nce 2018 so I feel like a part of the family.

“Going into a season knowing everyone really helps. They d🐲on’t put pressure on me.”

Antonelli said 𝓀about Sunday’s grand prix: “I don’t want to say a target becauꦇse last week it went badly!”