Toto Wolff insists he was giving George Russell high praise when he described the Brit's pole position qualifying lap in Budapest as "not s**t".
Given their dominance this season, no-one has been able to trouble the Red Bulls and Ferraris in qualifying so far this season. That made it all the more surprising when Russell came from nowhere to go fastest in Q3 and secure the very first pole position of his Formula 1 career.
Granted, the Red Bulls were not in the running with Sergio Perez out in Q2 and Max Verstappen suffering an engine problem, but it was still an eye-catching achievement nonetheless. And it was one which signalled that Mercedes are indeed getting closer to their rivals in terms of car performance.
