When your team-mate is on the verge of sealing the Formula 1 World Championship, the absolute last thing you want to admit is that your team’s latest multi-million-dollar upgrade package is a bit of a dud. But as the F1 paddock descends on the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix, George Russell is keeping things brutally honest about the current state of Mercedes.
During Thursday's media day in Austin, Russell didn't sugarcoat the team's recent aerodynamic struggles. While the press was buzzing about Kimi Antonelli potentially clinching the title, Russell admitted the engineering side of the garage is still trying to figure out why their highly anticipated recent upgrades fell flat on their face.
The Malaysia misfire
The drama started earlier this month when Mercedes rolled out a massive upgrade package at the Bahrain Grand Prix (in Malaysia). Instead of blowing away the competition, the new parts left the team scratching their heads regarding the car's balance.
"It's nothing to do with me really, so you know, as a team it's been an interesting couple of races," Russell admitted to the press. "We obviously brought that big upgrade in Malaysia. It didn't perform quite as we hoped."
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes
Instead of panicking and throwing the new carbon fibre bits in the trash, Mercedes used the subsequent Singapore Grand Prix as a massive, high-speed test session to gather back-to-back data on the set-up.
"We then got really good info in Singapore doing the back-to-back, and we're confident the upgrade is the way to go, but it just needs some more time to fine-tune the set-up to get the most out of it," he explained.
The threat from Red Bull and McLaren
Mercedes absolutely does not have the luxury of time right now. While Antonelli is mathematically positioned at the sharp end of the grid, the competition is breathing down their necks. Red Bull is surging late in the season, with Max Verstappen securing dominant back-to-back victories in Malaysia and Singapore, while McLaren and Ferrari are consistently stealing points and bringing upgrades of their own to Texas.
If Mercedes wants to comfortably secure the Constructors' crown and give Russell a car capable of fighting for wins, it has to unlock the set-up window for these new upgrades immediately. Fortunately for the Brackley squad, the final Sprint weekend of the calendar concluded in Singapore. That means the US Grand Prix is a traditional race format, giving the team three full practice sessions to dial in the set-up—a massive luxury for a team desperately needing track time to test parts.
George Russell, Mercedes
"So we're hoping we can get back on top of things because right now Red Bull are looking extremely strong. McLaren have been really strong in other races. Ferrari have upgrades as well, so we need to regain that form," the Brit stated.
With three crucial hours of free practice ahead of them in Austin, Mercedes has a golden opportunity to finally understand its car.
"So yeah, into this weekend, see what we can do, try and get Mercedes back on top because it's been a while, and let's see what the future holds," Russell concluded.
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