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.
Considering it was his maiden pole and a fine lap, some were surprised to hear team chief Wolff give a rather understated appraisal over the radio. Instead of telling the Brit it was a good lap, he instead described it as "not s**t".
But according to the Austrian, this was high praise as far as he is concerned. "I said 'not s**t' on my radio – that's pretty high up in my scale, by the way. That is not negative," he said.
"It was quite an interesting experience because we knew it was going quick. On our used soft [tyres], it was already quite competitive. We put on the new tyres, then the first sector came in and we saw the delta time running and I remember saying to the engineers 'I think we are playing for pole here' and that was silence on the other side.
"After sector two, yes, it was going to be fully tight. It's these moments you cherish so much in Formula 1. They come so unexpected, but the performance is really there and you do it."
Russell was unable to turn that first pole into a maiden race victory, as Verstappen raced from 10th to win for the eighth time this year. But it was still a strong result and another podium for the 24-year-old, who is enjoying an impressively consistent debut season with Mercedes.
Focussing on the positives after the race in Hungary, Russell told fans on social media: "Wanted more starting from pole but couldn't be prouder of the job we've done as a team today and over the past few months to close the gap. Another double podium. Let's keep pushing!"
