Russell explains Williams' sudden pace gains

George Russell said Williams' aerodynamic upgrade introduced at the German GP was behind his mighty qualifying effort at the Hungarian Grand Prix which came agonisingly close to securing a Q2 spot.

Russell and team-mate Robert Kubica have habitually filled the back row this year after Williams' failure to get the FW42 ready for the start of pre-season.

The Mercedes junior driver outqualified Kubica by over a second at the Hungaroring and was 16th in Q1, just 0.053secs shy of Romain Grosjean in 15th place, by far and away Williams' best qualifying performance of the year.

"It was unbelievable, I'm almost lost for words," he told Sky Sports.

"Prior to this weekend, I don't think we could ever have dreamed of qualifying off the back row on merit, but I feel like we've really turned a page this weekend, understanding the tyres and understanding the car, and the thing came alive then.

We’re getting there ? Amazing effort from everyone in the team - the car came alive today!! ?#F1 #HungarianGP ?? pic.twitter.com/rlIXPqG0Ex

— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) August 3, 2019

"There's been so much work behind the scenes to make the aero and the correlation better, and it's been a long process.

"We brought the update to Germany, but there were a number of reasons why we weren't quick there.

"This was the first true test, and regardless of the outcome tomorrow we can go into the summer very pleased.

"It shows what the team have done over the last year has been worth it. There's much to come later in the year, so it's refreshing to know that the work we've done has been worth it."

Russell will start the race 15th, having been bumped up a place by Antonio Giovinazzi's grid penalty for blocking Lance Stroll.

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