The Mercedes cars are indeed better than what Williams had provided to George Russell back in the time. However, if cars are compared to horses, then Mercedes is a “faster horse,” but it is still a “lame one,” suggested the 25-years old Mercedes driver when he asked to compare his W14 car with the Willimas car that he drove his tenure.
Now that the 2023 Formula One season has given three dramatic results, fans are able to figure out that the Mercedes W14 is not a championship-winning car. Ending the last season with just one win, that too not from their star driver Lewis Hamilton but from the newcomer young George, despite the worst W13 car, Mercedes developed a hope that 2023 will be a comeback.
But no, sixth-tenths away from pole in the season opener is not a comeback. Again in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, such a massive gap from Red Bull depicts no healing. Apparently, George Russell tried but could not get to the podium, as Fernando Alonso deserved it more. And in the Australian Grand Prix, he remained unlucky with the red flag and safety car.
Nevertheless, with the troublesome W14, the driver managed to come to the front row. George Russell started the Jeddah race from P3 and ended up on P4. He then started the Melbourne Weekend from P2 but faced a DNF. However, with these ups-downs in performance, one thing is very much obvious. The Brackley-based team needs to make the Mercedes horse “fast and tame.”
George Russell Can Sense a Need For Change In The Driving Style Of The Mercedes W14.
It is really interesting to see what George Russell said to the German publication Bid when they asked him to compare his experience from the three seasons he spent with the sister team Williams and the current team Mercedes. The Briton claimed, “It is the same as riding a horse.” However, comparatively the Mercedes is a “faster horse than Williams. But it is not just about the speed,” he said.
For George Russell, when one rides a horse from a certain place to another, it doesn’t zig. Then it feels like sitting in a Formula One car that sits perfectly with your style of driving. The driver merges into the car the same as a rider merges into the horse. But, no doubt at present, “Mercedes have a lame horse,” reckoned Mercedes’s second lead driver.
He even admitted the fact that W14 has a lot of performance in it. But the car/horse is not “happy that someone wants to ride it.” And the one factor that allows a phenomenal ride or drive is how the horse and car to suit the riding and driving style of the rider and the driver, which is missing in Mercedes currently. “The driving style does not suit the W14 either.”
Compared to a horse, the Mercedes car still has its own head, and when you drive it, you drive it with the risk of getting thrown away. According to George Russell, he still got the task of getting used to the strange Mercedes car. Same as a rider getting used to his horse through different practices and styles.
