George Russell has explained Toto Wolff’s “just drive” radio message during Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix that was a way to encourage the Briton who went on to secure pole position.

Russell took pole in Austria, beating both Ferrari drivers and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, but the session was far from straightforward for the Mercedes driver. He was fifth in Q1, more than 0.3s slower than Antonelli, and then had to abort his first attempt in Q2 after a mistake at Turn 3, leaving himself vulnerable at the end of the segment.

Before his second and final attempt in Q2, a radio message from Toto Wolff was broadcast on TV, with the Mercedes boss telling his driver: “George, just drive” without any further context. While it could easily have sounded to viewers like a stern instruction to focus on driving, Russell later explained it was actually a message of encouragement.

He then went on to take pole with what he described as a “magic lap” in Q3.

“It is one of those [laps] when you nail Turn 1 and you go through fast, but the car doesn’t slide,” he said about his last attempt in qualifying.

“It keeps the temperatures a little bit down. So the tyres are cooler approaching the next turn and then you have more grip. So you go through there faster and the tyres are cooler once again. And it’s this sort of upward spiral.

“It just clicked. It’s just one of those magic laps. And just so, so pleased because it’s been a real tough run for me. But, like Toto said to me in Q2, just enjoy it. Just enjoy the drive. And he said the same ahead of Q3, just go out and enjoy it. And I said that to myself, just don’t overdrive it, just enjoy it because it’s quite a cool thing that we do.”

Toto Wolff, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Russell later explained that Wolff’s message was simply a reminder of the conversations they had shared throughout the season, with the Mercedes boss trying to rebuild his confidence.

“It’s probably the Austrian accent, to be honest,” he smiled, when suggested the message itself felt more like an order than support. “No, I think knowing that your boss has 100% faith and confidence in you… He’s been the one who has been the first to pick me up throughout the season when things haven’t been going right and reminded me, you haven’t forgotten how to drive and I know the speed you’ve got.

“And we speak every single day. And those little messages, they kind of throw me to conversations that we have on a personal level between races as such. So maybe for you sort of listening, not knowing the context [it sounded different].

“For me, it means a lot and reminds me of those chats we’ve had and reminds me that, yeah, I can do it. I’ve done it my whole career. There’s no reason why I can’t do it again today.”

When asked whether he feels he has been overdriving at times this year, he added: “There’s definitely a factor of that, but it’s so difficult because if you’re on the back foot and you’re off the pace by a tenth or two or three to then say, I’m going to try less hard, it doesn’t compute.

“When things aren’t going your way, you always want to do more and more and more. And when you’re in the car to say that I’m going to approach this corner and I’m going to brake five metres earlier than the lap before, that’s just not how our brains work. But sometimes that is the faster way.”

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

“Can I beat Kimi? 100%”

Russell is currently third in the championship, 50 points behind leader Antonelli, despite being labelled a title favourite before the season. Pole position in Austria, with the Italian qualifying fourth, could provide a much-needed confidence boost.

“It’s the eighth race of the season, it’s my fourth pole, but I’ve never been able to really convert into a good result,” Russell said. “In moments like this, it’s like confidence is restored.

“And there is definitely an element of understanding what this car needs, what these tyres need in different conditions. And Kimi has just done an amazing job day in, day out.

“Do I have the confidence I can beat him? Yeah, 100%. I just need to get that click as I found again today, as I had in Barcelona, as I had in Canada, as I had in Melbourne, as I showed in China. And then the results will come at some point in the races. It can’t continuously be bad luck over the course of a season. So yeah, feeling good.”

Russell still struggled to explain why his final Q3 lap was so much quicker than all of his previous attempts – despite having to lift for a yellow flag at Turn 9 following Max Verstappen’s crash.

“If I had the answer, we’d be on pole every week, to be honest,” he said. “I said on Thursday, it’s like when the car clicks and the tyres work and it just gets into that sweet spot, a huge amount of lap time comes from nowhere.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

“I had a really difficult session. I was almost out in Q2. My first lap in Q3 was strong. And then I just went around Turn 1 on my final lap – I was a tenth and a half up. And then Turn 3, another tenth and a half up. And Turn 4, another tenth and a half. And the lap was unbelievable.

“I got that yellow flag in, the single yellow in the last sector. But I did a hundred-metre lift, lost a huge amount of time. I don’t have the answer for sure. I’ll be looking with my team where it came from. But it felt very, very sweet.”

Earlier this year Russell also took pole in Australia, Canada and Barcelona, but converted only one of those starts into victory, winning the season opener in Melbourne.

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