Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team witnessed a steep slump since last year. The flawed concept change accompanied by the risky zeropod concept reduced the performance of the W13 as well as the W14 significantly. It has come to a point wherein the team is struggling to stay put in the middle of the grid, let alone at the top.
A lot of things went wrong for Mercedes in these past two years. Moreover, Red Bull Racing took full advantage of it and trashed Silver Arrows at their lowest. Now, as Red Bull is set on a path to record an undefeatable season, the Brackley-based team is still searching for that one win. Meanwhile, George Russell spoke about his team’s shortcomings and revealed where things went crashing down.
George Russell Feels Bad Winter Decisions Has Pushed Mercedes’ Behind Its Rivals
After Mercedes witnessed a downfall due to a flawed concept in 2022, they were expected to go back to their original concept and ditch the zero pod thing. However, to much surprise, the Silver Arrows chose otherwise and just made some minor changes around the edge with the hope of having a better result. Undoubtedly, it was a huge mistake. The car, W14, yielded the same result as W13. Now, the 25-year-old British driver of the team, George Russell, has shed light on the same. He feels that risky decisions made during last winter have pushed the team to the back of the grid. Regardless, the team of engineers remains focused on improvement. The British duo of Russell and Lewis Hamilton demanded a stronger rear end to build confidence.
George Russell explained, saying the strong rear end gives them the confidence to hit the ground running during the initial lap of the race weekend. So far, only Red Bulls have managed to achieve that. Having said that, Russell is not looking too far ahead of himself. He has no set expectations for 2024. Apparently, Mercedes intends to approach one race at a time and try to gather as much data as possible. The basic idea is to carry on the right and positive information into next year and start at Bahrain on a strong note. Russell is currently seventh in the drivers’ championship, whereas Silver Arrows have maintained second place in constructors. At the same time, competition from Ferrari is building up, and the Brackley-based team needs to stay vigilant.
George Russell Not Intimidated By His Seven-Time World Champion Teammate Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton remains one of the biggest names in the sport of Formula One. The Briton is a seven-time world champion and holds the record for maximum race and pole wins. Naturally, for a rookie like George Russell, it was tough to meet the standards. Russell joined Mercedes in 2022 and was pitted against a much stronger teammate. But the British driver displayed self-confidence to come out on top.
“I don’t see myself as teammates with Lewis, I see myself as a Formula 1 driver in one of the greatest teams of all time,” said Russell. George feels it’s a great opportunity to be driving alongside a driver like Hamilton, as it keeps both of them on their toes. As far as intimidation is concerned, Russell says he has shown what he is capable of with his pace last season and has no reason to fear anyone on the grid.
