Motor racing-A day makes a big difference for Mercedes as Russell claims Singapore pole

By Nick Mulvenney SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The disappointment of a frustrating Friday at the Singapore Grand Prix was replaced by elation for Mercedes on Saturday after George Russell claimed pole position and his teammate Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth fastest. Russell, who had endured a glum Friday evening after spinning off the track and ploughing his car into a trackside barrier in second practice, was all smiles after securing only his second pole position of the season. "It's been a challenging weekend, to be fair," he told reporters. "I've not been comfortable with the car, not been comfortable with myself. But it all just sort of came towards me at the end of Q2, probably the first lap where I felt semi reasonable. "And then my lap one in Q3 was really strong, and then obviously matched it on the second lap. So pretty pleased with that. "I always sort of remind myself, it doesn't matter what happens on Friday, it's Q3 when it counts." Despite pole position at the Marina Bay circuit offering a considerable advantage – 10 of the 15 editions of the Singapore race have been won by the pole-sitter – Russell said he would not be taking anything for granted on Sunday. "Singapore has not been the kindest to me in the past, and that's been through my own doing the majority of the time," he said. "So I'm not going to get carried away with this pole position. Of course, I am in the best place to start." Antonelli also had his frustrations on Friday, most particularly when he had to abandon what looked like being his best lap of the day after Liam Lawson crashed to bring out the red flags. The rookie teenager showed his pace on Saturday, however, and ultimately was disappointed not to end up with Russell on the front row. "I just started to drive a bit tense, because I felt I had a real shot at least for the front row, because we're quick," the Italian said. "But then I started to overdrive, and I started to push more and more … but it was too much, over the limit." (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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