George Russell believes Mercedes will have a challenging season.
Mercedes is preparing for a “painful few weeks” following yet another lackluster Miami showing.
Although the Silver Arrows received enhancements in Florida, their luck did not significantly change. Lewis Hamilton was happy with his performance despite finishing sixth, which was his highest Grand Prix finish of the year.
George Russell, a teammate who was two spots behind, was clearly frustrated. The 26-year-old is worried about the upcoming races because there won’t be any more significant advancements anytime soon.
He declared: “We need to make adjustments swiftly because things aren’t right right now. In the near future, we do have a few things planned, but nothing that will make us the race winners.
It will therefore hurt for a few weeks. We have to acknowledge that we are the fourth-fastest team, in my opinion. This is where we are, and I believe we’re competing for the P5-P8 region every week; the lap times and the championship don’t lie.”
Russell continued, focusing on his race in Miami specifically: “To be honest, the entire race was fairly awful. I was up three spots, but once Checo [Perez] blasted it down the inside, everyone had to check up a little, which hurt my start.
Something didn’t feel quite right, so I needed to inspect the car and the data when I suddenly had no pace at all. Although this weekend has been more challenging than the others, the outcomes have all been quite similar.
Mercedes is currently in fourth place in the constructors’ championship and faces possible separation from the teams who are ahead of them. Red Bull and Ferrari have already accumulated almost 100 points in front of McLaren, who increased their lead in Miami with Lando Norris’s first Formula One victory.
While praising his close friend and fellow Brit, Russell did manage to smile and congratulate the McLaren driver on his first victory. “A massive well done to Lando and McLaren,” the 26-year-old exclaimed.
“He really deserves it, and after everything, he most likely ought to have won multiple times by now. We have a lengthy history of racing one another. He’s worked so hard, and I was confident he would succeed in Formula One. I’m overjoyed for him.
