George Russell hails “huge progress” from Mercedes after new front wing in Monaco

George Russell hailed Mercedes for the “huge progress” they’ve been making as a team by bringing new upgrades to the Monaco Grand Prix.

Russell was running with a revised front wing in Monaco as he qualified fifth.

It marked his best qualifying result since the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Qualifying in Monte Carlo was tightly-contested with just a tenth separating Oscar Piastri in second and Russell in fifth.

Reflecting on qualifying, Russell was pleased with his performance even though the margins being so tight left him a tad frustrated.

“Really strong result today,” Russell said. “Two hundreds from P3 which is frustrating when it’s so close.

“We are making huge progress at the moment. We’ve brought new bits to the car this weekend and it’s been great.

“I am hoping it is a turning point. Monaco has never been a strength for our car.

The car was dancing in the first sector.

“The lap felt strong. I was happy with it. The adrenaline that this circuit gives you, when you finish a lap, is ginormous.

“It could have been P3. It was P5, in the end. We are making progress.”

With overtaking so difficult in Monaco, drivers tend to finish in the positions where they start.

Looking ahead to the race, Russell believes the prospect of rain would lead to a “chaotic” Sunday.

“The past couple of years, it has been chaotic,” he added. “I’m unsure if there is rain on the horizon. We’d all welcome that, to spice things up.

“We want the best result but most importantly we are making progress.

“The team have done an amazing job to bring upgrades sooner than expected.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff hailed the team back at Brackley for doing a “mega job” in terms of the upgrade.

“The factory did a mega job,” he explained. “It was flown out at the last minute. It proved to be functioning and I hope that it holds.”