The critical calls that led to the memorable moment of an infamous Spa F1 weekend

“I’m really proud to have achieved this with the team.”

George Russell’s first Formula 1 podium came in utterly bizarre circumstances at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. But it was ultimately his reward for delivering arguably the best driving of the Spa weekend the day before in qualifying.

The session was wet from the start – with Q1 delayed by 12 minutes to allow the FIA to assess the track conditions, a paltry hold-up compared to what was to follow on Sunday. When it did get going, Russell’s Williams squad sent the Briton and team-mate Nicholas Latifi out on intermediates. This was an “aggressive” decision, per Williams’ head of vehicle performance Dave Robson, designed to "get the drivers’ confidence up" on the compound that would be crucial to gaining a high grid placing.

The rest of the pack did their early sighters on full wets, conscious of needing to save their four sets of inters per car for the later stages. But Williams was committed to using its allocation just to ensure progression through the segments, no matter the subsequent impact of only having used sets left should its drivers advance. “For us, that’s an easy game to play,” said Robson. “Much more difficult for the frontrunners.”

Williams’s decision paid off handsomely. Not only did Russell make it through to a third Q3 appearance of 2021, but Latifi qualified 12th – his best result in F1.

George Russell, Williams, celebrates after securing a front row start position

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Q3 was a story of three young, super-talented drivers. The rain had intensified ahead of the final segment, which meant the drivers initially headed back out on the extreme wets. Russell led the pack around and was the first to tackle the course at full-speed in the more challenging conditions. He made it up Eau Rouge, just, thanks to a lift when catching an oversteer snap having touched the Raidillon kerbs. Then, as he blasted up the soaking Kemmel Straight, his FW43B aquaplaned dramatically and Russell screamed for the red flags to fly.

They soon did but were in fact the reaction to Lando Norris’s huge accident in his countryman’s wake.

The McLaren driver had been the star of qualifying to this point, even with Russell’s latest Q3 progression in 2021’s on-average eighth-fastest car, Norris topping Q1 and Q2. But Norris catching his own oversteer snap – this one just past the second Eau Rouge apex – pitched his MCL35M left and sent him sideways into the wall at high speed, his wrecked car bouncing back across the track in a series of lurid spins. The following Sebastian Vettel pulled alongside to check Norris was OK, which he thankfully was.

“I basically pushed but I didn’t deploy my battery. [I] just saved it all for the last lap because it’s quite potent around here” George Russell

“At the end of the day I guess my mistake and my bad,” said Norris. “But I didn't feel like I was taking too many risks at the same time.”

The subsequent 40-minute stoppage to reset the track played a pivotal role in Russell’s eventual result. He, along with Esteban Ocon, initially returned for the resumed Q3 running on full wets. The rest of the runners – led by the Mercedes and Red Bull cars – had gone back to the inters with things drying out once again.

Williams therefore pitted Russell at the end of his out-lap and refitted the inters he’d used right back at the very start of Q1.

“[Back then] it was really quite wet,” said Robson. “So, they weren’t badly damaged when we pitted off them. And then there had been such a long period of time since Q1 run one they were all hot and back up to temperature. We were fortunate that the heavy rain [in Q3] meant we could do a bit of work on the full wet and just [getting] that bit of time to get the tyres back up to temperature [in the blankets] was the key.”

George Russell, Williams FW43B

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Then came Williams’s next bold call, one Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called “risky but clever” and led to Lewis Hamilton qualifying third. With Russell back on the best compound for the conditions, he was instructed to treat his first Q3 timed lap as a preparation tour to “get the tyres, brakes and power unit all in the right state,” per Robson, “and then just go for it”.

“I basically pushed but I didn’t deploy my battery,” Russell said of the prep lap that yielded a 2m08.059s. “[I] just saved it all for the last lap because it’s quite potent around here.”

With everything singing as Williams wanted it, Russell lit up the timing screens. He was able to hit the La Source apex, which the following Hamilton and even Max Verstappen could not, and recorded a 2m00.086s – a 7.973s gain on his previous Q3 best – his rapid and aggressive first sector proving pivotal.

Then came the rest. “That's a stonking lap,” reported engineer James Urwin. “You've outqualified Mr Hamilton. Outqualified Perez. And Bottas. And Vettel…"

Only Verstappen stopped Russell taking a famous pole, that would have become an infamous win. 

The Red Bull driver’s front row partner got the attention, but Verstappen also still delivered when it mattered, despite his tyres feeling “a bit cold, especially the first sector and maybe the start of the second one”. Verstappen added: “I think looking back at that, we could have done a better job”.

Nevertheless, the Dutchman secured a sixth 2021 pole and then of course the controversial ‘race’ win the following day. But Russell’s qualifying heroics would mean he too received silverware. In the end, although not as materially prized, the memory of his performance in such difficult circumstances, with a Williams package the team acknowledges remains far from F1’s best, might just be more valuable.

George Russell, Williams, 2nd position, with his trophy and Champagne

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images