Russell laments ‘pretty infuriating’ battle with Piastri in Qatar Sprint after struggling to maximise ‘true pace’

Despite claiming another podium finish, George Russell was left frustrated in the Qatar Sprint as he was unable to overtake Oscar Piastri after multiple unsuccessful lunges throughout the 19 laps.

The Mercedes man pinned the blame on pole-sitter Lando Norris, who aided Piastri as he led every lap around the Lusail International Circuit before handing his team mate the win coming out of the final corner.

READ MORE: Piastri takes victory in Qatar Sprint as Norris reverses positions on last corner in McLaren one-two

Although the Australian passed Russell with a bold move on the opening lap, he came under continuous pressure from the Briton and was accused numerous times over the radio of late defensive moves to keep the Mercedes behind.

Norris slowed down to give Piastri DRS and assist with his defence, making Russell’s job significantly harder as the McLaren pair narrowly clung on to a one-two finish to extend their lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.

Speaking after the Sprint, Russell said: “I mean it was very close going into Turn 1 on a couple of occasions. It was obviously so frustrating every lap, Lando backing up giving Oscar the DRS.

“Obviously I understand why he did that but when you’re out here, you’re fighting, you want to give it everything and you want to put a race on for the fans. It was just pretty infuriating but nevertheless, it was P3 this afternoon.”

SPRINT START: Watch the opening lap in the Qatar Sprint as Norris masterfully leads the field and Piastri passes Russell

After a remarkable one-two result last time out in Las Vegas, the Brackley outfit were expecting to continue their strong form in the similarly cool temperatures of Qatar – with Norris and Piastri’s late switch, Russell was only 0.410s off the win.

The 26-year-old will have another opportunity to claim the top spot in tonight’s qualifying hour, but the physically demanding track has opened up plenty of questions about how to deal with tyre degradation ahead of the remaining sessions.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from the Qatar Sprint as Norris relinquishes win to Piastri

“[The medium tyres] were definitely dropping a little bit to be honest,” Russell explained. “I struggled towards the end but I think Lando had some good pace.

“Oscar was struggling a little bit, so it would have been good to go head-to-head with Lando and see what the true pace would have been as I think he had quite a lot in the pocket just giving Oscar the DRS.”