George Russell, a British driver for Mercedes AMG F1, is confident that he is not facing the same challenges as his teammate Lewis Hamilton at the Australian Grand Prix. Despite Mercedes’ optimism with their new car for the 2024 season, they have had their worst start to a campaign since 2012. However, Russell believes that the team’s struggles in high-speed corners are to be expected at the Albert Park Circuit, where there are many medium and high-speed corners. He acknowledges that there is work to be done, but remains hopeful as there is still a close competition behind Red Bull.
Hamilton, on the other hand, had a difficult session in FP2 and expressed frustration with the set-up changes that backfired. While he has been dealing with inconsistent performance and confidence in his car, Russell claims that he has not experienced the same fluctuations. He is relatively satisfied with how his car is handling, despite lacking performance. Despite the challenges, Russell managed to qualify in seventh place and believes there is still a lot to play for in the race, although tire degradation will be a factor.
Pirelli’s choice to bring its most fragile tire options to Australia has sparked anticipation among the drivers that the 58-lap race will require two pit stops. The teams have decided to stick with their more durable tire compounds for the grand prix, and Russell believes this could make for an exciting race with limited running on the C3 tire. When asked about the unknowns of the rubber available this weekend, Russell expressed his excitement, stating that every team has saved two sets of the harder tires and no one has yet completed a lap on them. He also mentioned the resilience of the C2 tire in the previous race and expressed curiosity about how the harder tire will perform this year. Russell also criticized Pirelli’s softest compound, stating that it is too unpredictable for teams to comprehend, citing the fluctuations in lap times between teams in the Mexico Grand Prix last season. He noted that the competition is tight among the four teams, excluding Red Bull.