George Russell, a British driver for Mercedes AMG in Formula 1, expressed his concerns about his car’s performance during the Miami Grand Prix. Despite qualifying ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, Russell finished in eighth place during the race. He felt that something was off with his car, lacking grip and pace throughout the event. Even with a Safety Car intervention that closed the gaps between cars, Russell couldn’t challenge Yuki Tsunoda for seventh place in the final laps. He plans to investigate the issue further to understand what went wrong.
Russell attributed his struggles to inconsistent performance from Mercedes’ updated W15 charger. He described the recent weeks as a series of ups and downs for the team. On good days, they achieve fifth place, but on bad days, like this one, they settle for eighth. Although Mercedes introduced a minor floor upgrade, Russell admitted that it won’t immediately transform them into race winners. However, he mentioned that they have more developments planned for the future.
Acknowledging their current position, Russell believes that Mercedes is currently the fourth-fastest team in Formula 1. He emphasized the importance of accepting the reality reflected in lap times and the championship standings. He sees their fight for positions ranging from fifth to eighth as a consistent pattern week after week. Russell drew inspiration from McLaren’s recent victory, highlighting their turnaround from qualifying in 17th and 18th positions last year in Miami. He believes that their success demonstrates what is possible when things are done right. However, he stressed the need for Mercedes to make quick changes to improve their performance.