Russell reveals issue that thwarted Vegas pole shot

George Russell’s hopes of repeating his 2024 Las Vegas pole position vanished under the glow of the Strip on Friday night, after a sudden steering problem crippled his Mercedes just as the fight for the front row reached its peak.

The 26-year-old Briton had looked untouchable throughout Friday at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. He set the benchmark in final practice and remained the driver to beat as rain-affected conditions shook up the order in Q1 and Q2.

Yet when it mattered most in the top-ten shootout, a sudden mechanical issue struck his W16.

A Front-Row Chance Slips Away

“I had a steering issue in Q3,” Russell revealed afterward. “I don't know what it was. It was like a power steering issue.

“It was a real shame, obviously. I was quickest in P3, quickest in Q1, quickest in Q2 and on my second lap, I thought I had to stop the car on track, because I couldn't turn the steering properly.

“So I don't know what it was. I feel fortunate to have qualified P4, considering. But of course, it feels like a missed opportunity.”

What had looked like a clear shot at pole instead ended eight tenths shy of Lando Norris’s benchmark. Russell’s frustration was palpable: the pace was there, the confidence too, but the machinery let go at the worst possible moment.

Antonelli’s Q1 Exit Adds to Mercedes Misery

On the other side of the garage, Kimi Antonelli endured a bruising qualifying of his own. The Italian rookie – buoyed by a maiden podium last time out in Brazil – was dumped out in Q1 after a costly lock-up in treacherous conditions.

“It was very slippery,” Antonelli said. “The last lap was going to be good enough for top five, and I took some margin in the last braking just to avoid any bad surprises, and just still ended up locking up and losing the lap, and got knocked out.

“Two laps before I was in P5, I think, and then obviously to end up P17 is very frustrating.”

Yet the 19-year-old insisted the setback was nothing more than that: a stumble, not a sign of regression.

“We were strong all weekend and we've been very fast, like, every session, even this morning on the inter, so it doesn't hurt my confidence,” he added.

“Obviously, we're still in the good momentum and just need to do a good race tomorrow and then focus on the next one.”

With one car hobbled by a steering gremlin at the pivotal moment and the other caught out by the slick Vegas surface, Mercedes faces a tougher climb than anticipated in Saturday’s race – a night that had once promised so much more.

Las Vegas Grand Prix - Qualifying results

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