Toto Wolff left FURIOUS as Mercedes star makes shock qualifying exit

Hungarian Grand Prix

Wolff left FURIOUS as Mercedes star makes shock qualifying exit

The Brit was on pole here one year ago but will start the race from 18th on the grid

Joe Ellis

Saturday 22 July 2023 16:27 Updated: 19:01

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George Russell was a shock victim of Q1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, ending the session in 18th.

Mercedes opted to wait until the very end to do their final laps and that left a huge amount of pressure on for Russell, who was on pole here in 2022.

Toto Wolff was left fuming in the garage, pounding his fist on the table as Russell crossed the line and failed to get out of the bottom five.

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Russell was equally annoyed on the radio, saying: “Don’t tell me we’re out. ** Guys, we could have gone at any point, but then all that traffic in sector three.”

Ricciardo impresses

Among the five to drop out of Q1, Yuki Tsunoda was beaten by his new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who snuck into Q2 by the skin of his teeth.

He was 17th behind Alex Albon on a disappointing day for Williams with Logan Sargeant in 20th.

Alongside the American on the back row and behind Russell was Kevin Magnussen who was yet again outclassed by Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying after welcoming his second child into the world earlier this week.