Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell takes stock of the Silver Arrows’ form and goals at the summer break: Only 2nd place in the World Team Championship is not good enough
After a difficult 2022 season, the Mercedes Formula 1 team has so far remained below its own expectations in 2023. In the meantime, they are in second place in the Constructors’ Championship, but it has not yet been enough for a race win.
“We are in a good position in the team championship. That seems pretty secure at the moment. But we’re just focused on trying to … We want to win a race this year,” Mercedes driver George Russell concluded.
Last year Mercedes found themselves in a similar position, with their first win of the season coming at the penultimate race in Brazil, when Russell not only won the main race on Sunday but also the sprint race.
Russell underperformed so far?
The Briton is not entirely satisfied with his 2023 season so far, however. Russell is a full 49 points behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton and the highlights at Mercedes have also tended to belong to the seven-time Formula One world champion so far, including a pole position in Hungary.
“It’s a season of two halves,” Russell said. “So, I would say the first six races were really strong. The last six races, not so much. There are a couple of reasons for that: I’ve missed a lot of opportunities this season for a variety of reasons. “
“Some of them through my own mistakes, others, like the retirement in Australia, cost me a lot of points. But nonetheless, when you’re not fighting for first place in the Drivers’ Championship, you want to get the maximum out of the Constructors’ Championship, and we’ve managed to do that so far. “
Will McLaren still be a problem?
For a few races, however, McLaren have emerged as a new rival in the chasing pack, having moved up from the midfield into the chasing pack with an extensive update package, but the Woking-based team are already well behind Mercedes in the team standings with 247 points to 103.
“I think they’ve just had a really good run,” Russell says. “That’s often the way it is in this sport, when you’re in a good mood everything is a bit easier. You don’t stress yourself out, the car is in the right place when you put it on the ground. “
“I am sure we will be strong in the second half of the season as well. And after the break, there are a few little things [on parts] that will come. But I am confident that we can secure second place and try to close the gap further. “
Russell: Summer break comes just in time!
“And I think we’re working really hard on the features for next year. We look a lot at what the previous generations of Mercedes cars were like during the glory years and use that as inspiration because that was clearly one of the best cars in history. That has given us some clues as to where we want to go,” Russell explains.
But now it’s time for the summer break, which the 25-year-old Brit says is necessary: “We’ve got a two-week break now. I mean, people will certainly keep thinking, but no, this break is necessary, for everyone in the sport. It’s been quite an intense start to the season and the break comes at a good time. “
