Russell mystified how he "keeps pulling it off" in qualifying

George Russell does not understand where his consistent success in qualifying comes from after the Williams driver reached Q2 for the eighth time this season.

Ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Russell will start 13th in front of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll in his Racing Point, finishing just three-tenths of a second shy of a place in Q3.

The 22-year-old, who was confirmed as staying at Williams for next season, earlier this week, was left overjoyed by his latest performance.

"We weren’t expecting Q2 today, and to come away out-qualifying Racing Point and Ferrari, it’s just mega," Russell told Sky Sports F1.

"I don’t know how we keep pulling it off, to be honest, on the Saturdays. And it’s such a thrill, driving tracks like this is such a thrill."

Returning F1 world champion Fernando Alonso has praised Russell, dubbing the 2018 F2 champion the best of the young pack of drivers currently in the sport.

While he still awaits his first points in F1, Russell has prolonged his streak of never being out-qualified by a team-mate to 34 races while consistently pushing the FW43 above and beyond its true pace.

"That means a hell of a lot to me coming from a guy like Fernando," added Russell. "I am] Looking forward to racing him next year, I’m sure he’s going to be flying. I appreciate it."

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