George Russell has questioned Ferrari’s unexpected failure to finish inside the top three in qualifying for the 2026 United States Grand Prix, admitting that he had considered the Italian team the favourite throughout the Austin weekend. While Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli secured pole position at the Circuit of The Americas, George Russell could manage only sixth place, approximately half a second behind the Italian driver. Nevertheless, Ferrari’s sudden disappearance from the front of the qualifying order also caught his attention.
The result was particularly surprising considering the pace Ferrari had demonstrated during practice, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton emerging as leading contenders before the decisive session. Despite those encouraging performances, the Scuderia ultimately qualified fourth and fifth, leaving George Russell wondering how a team that had appeared so competitive could miss out on the first three positions.
George Russell admits he lacked the pace to challenge Kimi Antonelli
George Russell could only watch as Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for the United States Grand Prix. Finishing sixth, half a second behind the other Mercedes driver, was undoubtedly disappointing for the Briton, who nevertheless appeared fully aware after qualifying that his performance had not been strong enough to challenge for pole.
“I don’t think I could have fought for pole position, but I definitely think a top-three finish was within my reach,” George Russell admitted. “I was slower in Q3 than in Q2, and that says a lot.”
The contrast between the two Mercedes drivers was particularly noticeable, with Kimi Antonelli extracting considerably more performance from his car when it mattered most. George Russell, meanwhile, was left reflecting on a final qualifying segment in which he failed to reproduce his earlier pace.
Did wind and track temperature changes affect Austin Q3?
George Russell struggled to explain the size of his deficit, acknowledging that his qualifying performance had deteriorated during the final attempts in Q3. Rather than pointing to one specific technical issue, the British driver suggested that the problem came down to his execution of the two decisive laps.
“I think, from my perspective, it was just two bad laps in Q3. That’s really all there is to it.”
Wind conditions made the session difficult for everyone, but changes in asphalt temperature may also have influenced performance. The sensitivity of the cars and tyres to relatively small variations in track conditions became an important consideration during the final qualifying attempts.
Charles Leclerc also highlighted how the changing conditions could make it difficult to extract the maximum performance from the tyres, an issue that contributed to Ferrari’s own Q3 difficulties at Austin.
“I don’t think anybody improved their time on the final lap,” George Russell explained. “The sun came out, but unfortunately my first lap wasn’t good enough. For everyone, the track temperature goes up by a couple of degrees and, by the time you reach Sector 3, that makes a huge difference to the tyres and their temperature windows.”
His explanation underlined just how difficult it had become to put together a competitive lap during the closing stages of qualifying. With wind and changing track temperatures affecting the cars, drivers faced an additional challenge when attempting to improve their times.
The differences between Q2 and Q3 performance can also be explored through the F1 qualifying pace and sector comparison, which provides a closer look at qualifying gaps and sector-by-sector performance.
George Russell questions Ferrari’s failure to finish in the top three
Looking ahead to the United States Grand Prix, George Russell also turned his attention towards Ferrari, expressing surprise that neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton had managed to qualify inside the top three.
“I don’t think anybody expected Ferrari not to be in the top three. They looked like the dominant team throughout the weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see how that translates into race pace.”
The assessment reflected the expectations created by Ferrari’s performances during practice. Charles Leclerc had demonstrated particularly strong speed in Austin, with the team’s encouraging FP2 performance reinforcing the impression that the SF-26 could compete for the leading grid positions.
Ferrari’s competitiveness had also attracted attention because the team arrived at the Circuit of The Americas with an important aerodynamic development package. The latest SF-26 upgrades targeted several areas of the car, including the floor, sidepods and diffuser, as the Maranello engineers worked to improve aerodynamic performance.
However, the final qualifying classification failed to reflect Ferrari’s earlier promise. While Kimi Antonelli converted Mercedes’ potential into pole position, the two Ferrari drivers were left outside the top three despite having appeared among the strongest contenders.
Ferrari’s race pace becomes an important question for the United States GP
For George Russell, the key question is now whether Ferrari can reproduce its impressive practice performance over a full race distance. Although the Scuderia failed to deliver the expected qualifying result, its earlier competitiveness leaves open the possibility of a stronger performance on Sunday.
The Mercedes driver will also be looking to recover from his own disappointing sixth-place starting position, having acknowledged that a place among the top three should have been achievable.
With Kimi Antonelli starting from pole and Ferrari attempting to recover from fourth and fifth, the United States Grand Prix will provide an opportunity to assess whether the Italian team’s encouraging pace during practice can translate into a more competitive race performance.
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