Despite Getting Sick, George Russell Berseloroh After Achieving Fourth Position In The Abu Dhabi Qualification

Mercedes driver George Russell is in the middle of a pheo with the team. (photo: x @bahyRussell63)

JAKARTA - Mercedes driver George Russell made a joke after winning fourth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying session, closing the Formula 1 season despite being sick for several weeks.

"I've been really sick for the past two weeks and I'm really, really fast," Russell told the Sky Sports television station.

"So I don't know if I need to get sick more often or what happens. The last two weeks I've just felt very comfortable in the car, slept averaged about three hours per night, so maybe that's the secret everyone doesn't know," he said.

Despite winning fourth place on the grid, it was a bit disappointing after Russell raised the team's hopes by becoming the fastest in the last training session.

The tiring Formula 1 season will peak at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at Yas Marina, after a series of races in America and the Las Vegas Grand Prix last Saturday.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix involved a training session ending at 4 am local time, qualifying for midnight, and the race starts at 10 p.m. on Saturday.

Abu Dhabi is 12 hours ahead of Las Vegas, making a tiring adjustment for circuits traveling five races on three continents within five weeks, including the Texas-Mexico-Brazil triple-header.

Alpine's racer, Esteban Ocon, missed media obligations on Thursday, November 23 due to illness and said on Saturday 25 November that he was still feeling the effects of fever.

"We haven't seen the sun for four days," the Frenchman said of a trip to Las Vegas. "Of course it's not ideal to be in bed for two days before the F1 race."