Russell Warns of Tough Times Ahead for Mercedes

George Russell predicts challenging races for Mercedes F1 as they await significant updates. The team’s struggle for pace signals a difficult phase in their 2024 campaign.

George Russell has given an honest assessment of Mercedes F1’s form in 2024, warning that the team is set for “some painful weeks ahead.”

Mercedes F1 experienced another disappointing weekend at the Miami Grand Prix, with Russell finishing eighth, behind Yuki Tsunoda’s RB F1.

Lewis Hamilton fared better in the other Mercedes, finishing 18 seconds ahead of Russell in sixth place, even challenging Sergio Perez and his Red Bull in the final twelve laps.

Mercedes F1 introduced a significant upgrade program in Miami, particularly around the floor, to address its issues.

However, the team remains far from the top three—Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren—in terms of raw performance.

Reflecting on Mercedes’ struggles, Russell admitted that his team would not be realistically fighting for better than 5th to 8th place in the upcoming Grands Prix.

“McLaren qualified 17th and 18th twelve months ago in Miami, and they won, so it shows what’s possible when things are done right,” Russell remarked.

“We have a few small things coming in the short term, but nothing that will transform us into race winners.”

“It’s going to be painful for a few weeks. I think we have to accept that we are the fourth fastest team.”

“The lap times and the championship don’t lie; that’s where we are, and I think we are fighting for 5th to 8th places week after week. Until the next major updates, which should fix a lot more issues, that’s what we’re facing.”

It was a challenging race for Russell, who was outperformed by his teammate for the first time this year. Russell remains convinced that something was not right with his W15.

“I mentioned it after the race, something was off, the car just didn’t have any grip, no pace, and I was slower than Yuki throughout the entire last stint.

“A good day for us is 5th and a bad day is 8th, and it was a bad day, so we finished 8th.”