George Russell describes his new Mercedes car as ‘interesting’ and admits the vehicle needs ‘a HUGE amount’ of work ahead of the new F1 season after joining as Lewis Hamilton’s No 2 driver
- George Russell admits the new Mercedes F1 car needs ‘huge improvement’
- The 23-year-old said the W13 car for next season was ‘interesting’ at the moment
- All teams are having to update their vehicles to new F1 technical regulations
New boy George Russell has put Mercedes’ F1 rivals on high alert after admitting publicly that his team’s new car is ‘interesting’ and needs a ‘huge amount of work’ ahead of the upcoming season.
All carmakers are having to adapt to the sport’s new technical regulations regarding their F1 vehicles, which have been introduced to make the racing more competitive next campaign.
Mercedes won their eighth constructors championship in a row last season, despite Lewis Hamilton controversially missing out on the driver’s title.
Mercedes new boy George Russell has described the team’s new F1 car as ‘interesting’
Russell, who debuts with Mercedes next season, said the car needs a ‘huge amount’ of work
But Russell’s comments suggest that dominance may be in peril unless the Mercedes engineers can find the right solutions.
The 23-year-old, who enjoyed a breakthrough first season with Williams last term, gave an ominous assessment when asked about his first impressions of the new ‘W13’ vehicle.
‘First impressions of W13 have been interesting,’ Russell said on the Mercedes YouTube channel.
‘It’s a very different car to the previous era – and the characteristics of how the downforce is completely different so we’re still learning as we are going.’
Russell enjoyed a great breakthrough season with Williams last year before joining Mercedes
Going further, Russell revealed the Mercedes car was a long way from being competitive at the moment.
‘There’s still a huge amount of improvement to be made to bring everything together and make it as nice as possible to drive.’
Despite his concerns, Russell was quick to suggest that Mercedes are likely not the only team struggling with the new technical specifications.
‘I foresee a lot of people being in the same boat,’ he continued.
‘We’re just learning so much day after day, whether it be in the winter or in the simulator and I think it’s going to be a year of development.
Mercedes have confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will race for them again in the 2022 season
‘I think everyone wants to go into the first race and have the fastest car possible but what will be more important is understanding what your limitations are and how you’re going to improve from those limitations to build the best foundation possible.’
Russell now knows his debut Mercedes season will be alongside Hamilton after the team confirmed the seven-time world champion will race for them again.
Speculation had been rife that Hamilton was considering walking away from the sport after his controversial loss to Max Verstappen in the final race in Abu Dhabi last season.