George Russell told to 'have some decorum' by Sky F1 pundit as interview turns awkward

lost his composure during a Sky Sports F1 interview following qualifying at the after using some unfortunate phrasing in an assessment of ' tyre plans for the race on Sunday.

The 27-year-old qualified third at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, behind polesitter Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, who missed out on the top spot in qualifying by just one-hundredth of a second. Lando Norris was classified in P10 after crashing out on his first Q3 run.

While discussing the tyre options for his rivals, Russell suggested that Norris would "put the hard on" from the start. After noting the wording of his response, he paused and cracked a smile, before accusing a media member behind the camera of smiling and throwing him off his rhythm.

When the conversation panned back to Sky Sports F1 pundit Natalie Pinkham in the paddock, she jokingly told the Brit to "have some decorum".

Assessing the session in general, Russell wasn't sure what to make of his P3 starting grid slot. "I'm a little bit mixed feelings, to be honest, because I went quite conservative on my out-lap with my tyres," he explained. "Because it was my one and only lap and I had no banker on the board, I just felt that if I made a small mistake at Turn One or a lock-up, I'd have been down in P10.

"And usually, your last lap in Q3, you're fully, fully sending it. I thought I needed to go a bit hotter with my tyres, just to ensure there's no mistakes at Turn One, and it cost me in the last sector.

"I lost a tenth and a half from myself on the last sector. The lap otherwise was great. It's thrilling around here, and you're so close to a mistake at any point. But P3 is probably more than we could have hoped for."

With Norris out of contention for the victory, Russell will hope to close the gap to the current championship leader on Sunday. The King's Lynn-born racer entered the Saudi Arabian GP 14 points behind his compatriot in the Drivers' Championship standings.

Russell's team-mate, Kimi Antonelli, is also in a strong position for the Grand Prix. The Italian teenager qualified P5 and will have his sights set on a maiden F1 podium as he prepares for just his fifth race since graduating with Mercedes.