The Mercedes W15 is easier to drive overall, says George Russell
The Briton, who didn't take part in the second day of testing, took time out in the press conference to look back on his first sensations at the wheel of the Mercedes W15 on Wednesday.
George Russell did not drive on Thursday, the Mercedes W15 being driven by Lewis Hamilton throughout the day. Russell took advantage of this to attend a press conference and he showed his optimism towards the new car of the German team.
Last year’s car was really difficult to drive, Lewis [Hamilton] and I had no confidence in it,” he recalled. “We couldn’t attack the medium and high-speed corners without the rear end snapping, and we’ve made a big step forward in terms of the car’s consistency.”
We can really attack the corners better now and that was the main objective. Last year, we noticed many flaws on the W14, and the team did an excellent job in rectifying them, continued George Russell.
The Briton then revisited all the issues the W14 faced last season, despite all the changes made to the aerodynamics. He then admitted that with the possible convergence of the 2022 regulations, all teams will start to find their peak performance.
This recurrence of regulations certainly has an optimal point for all teams. You want the car to be as low as possible, but you can’t go too low for fear of touching the ground or causing bouncing, which is always there in the background for some teams.
Red Bull is already at this optimal point but we hope to be able to close the gap. But it will require a lot of work to achieve that. explains the British driver reasonably.
For the last day of the winter testing, Lewis Hamilton will drive the W15 in the morning, and George Russell will take his place in the afternoon.
