After nearly hunting Max Verstappen for P1 in Mexico, Mercedes arrived in Brazil hoping for a much better weekend. Sao Paulo has been the Silver Arrows’ fortress for a while, as George Russell secured the team’s lone win of the season in 2022. Therefore, the entire unit had set high expectations ahead of the race weekend.
However, the addition of the sprint race foiled Mercedes’ plan of attaining glory. They struggled to generate performance off the car throughout the weekend. While Lewis Hamilton barely ended up with points, his British teammate, George Russell, had to retire his W14 prematurely owing to engine overheating issues. Recently, Russell shared his understanding of the weekend and pointed out the key difference that set them apart from rivals.
George Russell Blames Set Up Miscue For Sao Paulo Mayhem!
British driver George Russell was left shell-shocked by Mercedes’ struggles at the recently concluded Brazilian Grand Prix. The W14, who had been attaining consistent podium finishes, barely managed to stay in points in Sao Paulo. Meanwhile, Russell was left heartbroken as he faced an unprecedented DNF. His engine developed overheating issues, which posed the risk of a fire or grave damage. Thus, the Silver Arrows asked him to retire the car as a precautionary measure. Speaking on the disastrous weekend, Russell said he felt like sitting on a duck compared to rivals’ pace.
However, George Russell felt that Mercedes’ surprising struggle was event-specific. The car was the same one which got them podiums in the past. A potential area of problem could be the setup. Due to the addition of sprint, teams had only one practice session to assess the track conditions. “This is clearly a substantial, one-off event, but we need to understand what we’ve got wrong,” said Russell. The Briton further revealed that Silver Arrows, in fact, added more downforce to W14 ahead of the main race on Sunday. Now, the introduction of added downforce is supposed to produce performance gain through the corners. But that didn’t happen in Mercedes’ case, which left George perplexed. Having said that, Russell confirmed that the team will regroup to fix the issue ahead of the penultimate race of the ongoing season in Las Vegas.
George Russell To Have New Engine For Las Vegas GP, Confirms Mercedes!
Ahead of the highly anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix, George Russell’s W14 is set to undergo massive change. Mercedes officially confirmed the introduction of a new engine for Russell via a YouTube video. The official also clarified that the British driver won’t be facing any grid penalty as his engine is not entirely a new component but a modified version of the previous one.
Additionally, the Mercedes official shared details on George Russell’s Sao Paulo orderly. He says the decision to retire Russell’s W14 was a collective and precautionary one. The Briton’s engine was overheating and posed the risk of a potential fire hazard. It also could have damaged the other critical components of the car, which they wanted to avoid under any circumstances. Thus, calling off the race seemed an ideal choice for the Brackley-based team.
