Following a poor performance at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, George Russell has voiced his concern regarding fundamental issues (“baked in” problems) with the Mercedes car that appear persistent and could impact future development.
The British driver recorded his worst Grand Prix finish of the current season at Imola, coming in seventh after starting from third place on the grid and falling back.
Although a suboptimal strategy decision and bad luck with the timing of a Virtual Safety Car influenced the result, Russell was primarily disheartened by the car`s overall lack of speed, particularly in the warm conditions in Italy.
He commented, “The patterns are quite evident. We are slow in hot conditions, and quick when it`s cold. This was the case last year as well.”
He added, “We`ve tried everything with the setup to find answers, but there`s clearly a deeper, more fundamental issue with the car itself.”
Despite being fourth in the driver standings, 47 points behind leader Oscar Piastri, Russell had previously overcome the Mercedes car`s slower pace compared to McLaren and often Red Bull to secure four podium finishes in the first six races before Imola.
He elaborated, “This isn`t the first race this season where we`ve been slower than Ferrari, or even matched or been slower than Williams` pace. Yet, somehow we`ve managed to salvage a result in those instances.”
“Honestly,” he concluded, “we were quite fortunate to finish seventh today.”
“We Need to Think Quickly”
Mercedes currently holds second place in the Constructors` Championship, 132 points behind McLaren. This position comes despite George Russell`s teammate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, retiring from his home race with a throttle problem and Ferrari`s generally inconsistent speed.
In the previous season, Mercedes` performance was stronger in cooler weather. While Russell and his former teammate Lewis Hamilton each secured two victories, they frequently struggled to match the pace of leading teams in warmer conditions.
Mercedes, also known as the Silver Arrows, brought front suspension and wing upgrades to Imola. Although there was considerable optimism surrounding these updates beforehand, they ultimately did not seem to improve performance significantly.
Russell added, “I wouldn`t say we`re out of ideas for tire management, but as I mentioned, the issue seems inherent to the car`s design.”
“Consider Ferrari a few years ago,” he noted, “they were incredibly fast in qualifying but struggled in races. Now, they`ve somewhat reversed that, and even they don`t fully understand why.”
“Therefore, we need to find a better balance, especially with the next race approaching. We`re heading into the summer months, which historically hasn`t suited us well. We need to find solutions rapidly.”
Marcus Prine