GEORGE RUSSELL’s proposed move to Mercedes was all but confirmed by boss Toto Wolff after he narrowly missed out on a shock pole position.
The Brit is expected to be confirmed as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate for 2022 within days, replacing Valtteri Bottas.
Russell looked to have done the unthinkable and taken pole for the Belgian GP in his Williams only to be pipped by Max Verstappen at the death.
When quizzed on two occasion if he had made his decision over his driver pairing, Wolff simply said ‘yes’.
He also added: “Like George, I was a bit disappointed he was not on pole.”
understands the delay in confirming the switch is down to securing a place for Bottas in a different F1 team.
Wolff said: “If it would have been an easier decision, we would have made it earlier because we know what we have with Valtteri and we know what we have with George.
“Both of them deserve being looked after in the best possible way because both of them are part of the family and we hold them up high.”
Russell is now targeting a top-five finish after qualifying ahead of Hamilton, who will start in third place.
Russell, 23, said: “I thought we would have done a good job to get out of Q1 but I had so much confidence and the car was feeling great.
“I was in a fortunate position having got into Q3 with nothing to lose, so we thought, let’s go for it.
“I am buzzing for tomorrow, which of course is the important one, so all eyes on that. We have to be realistic. We have fast cars behind us but I don’t see why we cannot finish in the top five.”
Russell’s heroics came in a rain-soaked qualifying session in Spa, that was delayed by 40 minutes due to a huge crash involving Lando Norris at the notorious Eau Rouge section of the track.
In treacherous conditions, Norris lost control at speed and slammed into the tyre barriers only to be catapulted back on track, with his McLaren spinning on its side.
It was almost a carbon copy of an accident in the W Series qualifying session held the previous day that saw six cars slam into each other.
Thankfully, Norris’s crash was not near any other driver, although Sebastian Vettel was next to arrive on the scene and slowed down his Aston Martin to check on the 21-year-old, who gave him the thumbs up.
Vettel was furious having just told the race director, Michael Masi to stop qualifying due to the wet conditions. A plea that was ignored.
He fumed: “Well, what the f*** did I say? What did I say? Yeah, red flag. It’s unnecessary.”
Vettel later complained to Masi and says he gambled with drivers’ lives by starting qualifying in the heavy rain.
He said: “I think Michael is not proud of what happened either.
“It’s always easy to play Captain Hindsight. But I think we need to find a way that we listen more to the information that we have.
“Inside the garage, it’s very limited, because it’s like looking out of the window. But three kilometres that way, I have no clue what is going on.
“When I went down to Eau Rouge and came up the hill, it was a lot of water and I was calling for a red flag.
“I think the truth is, the session should not have started at all.
“There’s plenty of things we could have done better. I think it’s better to be safe one time too many than one time too little.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
“It’s good that nothing happened, that’s the main news, but it could have been a different outcome for Lando.”
Meanwhile, Norris has been given the all clear to race after undergoing an x-ray on his elbow.
McLaren boss Andreas Seidl said: “The checks were done in the hospital, also on his elbow that was hurting a bit. Everything is good, and he’s good to be back racing tomorrow.”
