F1 Hungarian Grand Prix: George Russell suffers SHOCK early qualifying exit

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton look glum as they walk through the paddock — Photo: © IMAGO

Hungarian GP Qualifying

Mercedes star suffers SHOCK early exit at Hungarian GP

George Russell went out early in Hungarian GP qualifying

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 20 July 2024 16:57 Updated: 17:38

One of the favourites to claim pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix fell in the first session of Saturday's qualifying session.

Mercedes lost one of their stars in Q1, as George Russell failed to make the top 15 in changeable conditions at the Hungaroring.

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The Brit struggled while his team-mate Lewis Hamilton breezed through, meaning Russell will start Sunday's grand prix from 17th.

George Russell had a disappointing qualifying

Lewis Hamilton has been outperformed by George Russell in qualifying so far this season

Russell disappoints in qualifying

The 2024 season so far has seen Russell outperform Hamilton during qualifying sessions, but that head-to-head record is now at 10-3.

Following a red flag caused by Sergio Perez's huge shunt into the barriers, the track surface had dried, sparking all 20 cars to head back out in a rush to get a lap time in amid better conditions.

Russell has seemingly struggled all weekend to get into his groove, and his first lap after the restart was only enough to put him into 15th position, right on the cusp of elimination.

However, Russell did not have enough fuel in his car to complete multiple laps, leaving him frustrated when talking to Sky Sports F1 following his elimination.

"There's two factors. The first was I didn't do a good enough job at the beginning. The second was we didn't have enough fuel to complete the session," a disappointed Russell said.

"It was a disaster from both aspects. We should have got through comfortably."

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes George Russell Hungarian Grand Prix