Russell: “We have to accept that this is our level”
Ranked seventh and eighth, the two Mercedes drivers seem resigned to the fact that this is their normal ranking at the moment. But areas for improvement are clearly identified.
After being eliminated as early as Q2 in the Sprint Qualifying, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton this time managed to participate in the final qualifying session this Saturday afternoon. Their final ranking is quite honorable, with George Russell in 7th place, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
During his press conference after the session, George Russell appeared fatalistic about the current level of Mercedes: “As a team, we have to accept that 7th and 8th is our current level.”
In contrast to the two previous single-seaters produced by Mercedes, defined as divas, the 2024 one seems easier to assess: « Now we clearly know which areas of the car need to be improved. We had problems last year. The team worked so hard to fix them that, I think, we overcompensated, we went too far to the other extreme. So it’s not surprising that we find ourselves in this position. » So while last year, it was the rear of the car that did not meet the drivers’ requirements, it is now the front that does not perform as it should in low-speed corners.
The driver is well aware that the process of improving his single-seater will take time since new parts need to be designed, evaluated in the wind tunnel, physically manufactured, and then assembled on the car: « We are talking about several weeks, several races but at least, we know why we are experiencing problems, we are not lost, and we have a clear direction to move forward.
So it’s about managing expectations and being realistic: Today, we have the fourth fastest car on Saturday afternoon and we’re not far from being the third fastest car on Sunday afternoon. That’s reality.
From our special envoy in Miami
