George Russell: “Without McLaren, we would be very satisfied with the progress we are making.”
By abandoning its "0 pontoon" concept, Mercedes has made significant progress, establishing itself as the second force on the grid. However, recent performances by McLaren at Silverstone and Budapest, thanks to the introduced evolutions, give the advantage to the Woking team currently. George Russell believes that the papaya team can become the best among the others, behind Red Bull.
George Russell struggled in qualifying in Hungary but his impressive comeback up to 6th place saved his weekend. The Mercedes W14 is now performing better, although still far from the Red Bull, but the performance is there. Lewis Hamilton’s pole position in Budapest also attests to this.
However, if Mercedes is ahead of its early season competitors Aston Martin and Ferrari, they now face a new threat named McLaren. Indeed, since the improvements made in Silverstone, Zak Brown’s men have not stopped: 30 points scored in Great Britain and 28 points in Hungary. To the extent that George Russell sees Mercedes being threatened at the end of the season for second place in the constructors’ championship. Granted, McLaren is currently far behind, but with regular podium finishes and no issues, they could quickly make a comeback.
« It is absolutely clear that they are genuine contenders to be the second fastest team,” Russell said after the Hungarian Grand Prix, before continuing: « So, without McLaren, we would be very satisfied with the progress we are making.”
Russell has confidence in his team
Although McLaren has been very competitive in the last two races, Mercedes has a significant lead in points. Furthermore, George Russell has complete trust in his team to continue improving their performance throughout the season in order to solidify their second place in the constructors’ championship.
« McLaren just put everything back in the balance. But that gives optimism about the potential to take bigger steps. I believe in my team. I think it gives us confidence and optimism that we can make this step towards Red Bull » explained Russell.
The British driver from Mercedes also notes that Aston Martin and Ferrari seem to be lagging behind and struggling to come back into the battle. This gives Russell even more confidence. « It’s very strange that Aston Martin was the second best at the beginning of the year. And they don’t seem to be as competitive at the moment. Ferrari hasn’t made much progress. And McLaren has made a huge leap », he observed.
« We are not really focused on McLaren, Aston or Ferrari. We are focused on Red Bull. And we are trying to make this big step. We are overtaking the midfield by taking the lead on our rivals, closing in on Red Bull,” he finally concluded. During the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, Mercedes will try to climb back onto the podium in order to score the maximum number of points in this race for second place in the constructors’ championship.
