George Russell has expressed worry regarding fundamental problems seemingly inherent (“baked in”) in Mercedes` Formula 1 car, following a disappointing performance at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The British driver recorded his worst finish of the season at Imola, dropping from third place on the starting grid to seventh at the checkered flag.
Although factors like a poor strategy decision and ill-timed Virtual Safety Car contributed to the outcome, Russell felt particularly let down by the car`s overall lack of pace in the warm Italian weather.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he stated:
“The patterns are quite clear. When it`s hot, we`re slow. When it`s cold, we`re fast. It was the same last year.”
He added:
“We`ve been working extensively on the setup to find solutions, but there`s clearly a more fundamental issue with the car.”
Russell currently sits fourth in the drivers` standings, 47 points behind the leader, Oscar Piastri. Despite his team`s often slower pace compared to McLaren and sometimes Red Bull, he managed to secure four podium finishes in the six races leading up to Imola.
He continued:
“This isn`t the first race this season where we`ve been slower than Ferrari, or even slower than or similar in pace to Williams, but somehow, we`ve managed to extract a result on those occasions.”
However, truthfully, today we were very fortunate to even finish seventh.
Thinking Quickly Required
Despite ongoing performance challenges, Mercedes currently holds second place in the Constructors` Championship, though significantly trailing McLaren by 132 points. This position is partly due to inconsistent performances from other teams and issues faced by competitors.
Last season showed a similar trend for Mercedes, with better performance in cooler temperatures. Both Russell and Lewis Hamilton achieved victories but often struggled to match the front-runners in warmer races.
Mercedes introduced front suspension and wing upgrades at Imola, which the team had been quite optimistic about beforehand, but they ultimately did not seem to improve the situation.
Russell commented:
“I wouldn`t say we`re running out of ideas to fix the tire issues, but as I mentioned, it`s somewhat built into the car`s design.”
He drew a comparison:
“Looking back a few years at Ferrari, they were incredibly fast in qualifying but slow in the race. Now they`ve done a complete reversal, and they also don`t fully understand why.”
Concluding his remarks, he emphasized the urgency:
“Therefore, we need to find a better balance, especially with the next race approaching. We are heading into summer, and that doesn`t bode well for us. We need to find solutions fast.”
