After a disappointing performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, George Russell was worried about the speed of his Mercedes.
Rather than crediting their competitors’ advancements, George Russell has linked Mercedes’ difficulties at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to the Silver Arrows “getting slower.” After struggling with an unfavorable strategy, teammate Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in P9, while the British driver concluded the race in P6.
Russell was able to maintain a comfortable lead over Hamilton and Lando Norris of McLaren, thanks to his superior strategy. However, despite Fernando Alonso’s constant complaints over the radio about the AMR24’s race pace, the Mercedes driver was unable to close the gap on fifth place.
Russell finished the race in P6, but he was trailing race winner Max Verstappen by 39.9 seconds at the finish line. The 21-second deficit to third-place Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was even more worrisome.
Russell said, “We’re still really trying to understand this car because we have shown true performance at times over the last two weekends,” in response to questions about the quality difference between Mercedes and the other three leaders.
“FP1, we were first on the timesheets and consistently in the top three right out of the gate. FP2, P2. Then the pace [was] just slipping away from us on both weekends. It’s not our rivals who are getting faster; it’s us who are getting slower.
Therefore, we must ascertain the cause of that. It’s fine margins now, though. We are very close to Aston [Martin], McLaren, and ourselves. Charles is only a little bit in front. All we have to do is reach out a little further.
The 26-year-old was also unconvinced that the reason behind the Mercedes’ bouncing was the Mercedes itself. When questioned about the complaints, Russell responded, “I think there’s more to it.” These days, it’s really complicated. These vehicles are incredibly intricate. When you combine that with the tires, the tires are also very challenging. I don’t have the answers at this time.
Russell’s teammate expressed his worries about the W15’s performance as well. “I mean, the car is good, or relatively good in the low-speed [corners], and not so bad in the medium [speed corners], but at the high speed we are miles off,” Hamilton said to Sky Sports F1.
“It’s definitely frustrating to be in essentially the same position for three years in a row; it felt like I was in a different category when I was going through the high speed between the other guys around me.”
After two rounds of the record-breaking 2024 calendar, the Silver Arrows are just barely hanging onto third place in the Constructors’ Championship. However, their lead over McLaren is now just two points thanks to a cool drive by Oscar Piastri, who took the checkered flag in P4.
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