George Russell has played an alarm on Mercedes’ 2025 Formula 1 campaign, accepting that the underlying issues in the car’s performance can derail the expectations of the team to compete in front of the team as the season enters its hot phase. The British driver finished his most magnificent grand pricks of the season in Imola, finished seventh after starting the third on the grid – a result that disappointed him disappointed and discovered the answers.
Talking to Sky Sports F1 after Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Russell hid his concern about the direction of Mercedes’ development. He said, “The trends are very clear. When it is hot, we are slow. When it is cool, we are hurrying. The same was the same last year,” he said, referring to the recurring struggle of Mercedes, two frequent campaigns.
Despite introducing Mercedes upgrade front suspension and a new front wing in Emola – the car was stunned once again when the car temperature raised inside the garage – the car temperature raised. While the disappointing result of Russell was partially shaped by an unfortunate virtual security car time and a suspected strategic call, the main issue, he said, is deeper than the race-day circumstances.
He said, “We are doing everything with the setup and find solutions, but the car is clearly more original,” he accepted.
Russell currently ranks fourth in the standing of drivers, 47 points of the championship leader Oscar Piastry. While the Mercedes driver has so far managed to punch over the actual performance of the car, the boundaries with four podiums in the first six rounds, Starcs at Emola.
“This is not the first race in this season, where we are slower than Ferrari, or even equal to Williams,” Russell accepted. “We have somehow managed to achieve the results on those occasions. But today, we were all very lucky to end P7 in honesty.”
Another Mercedes driver, Ruki Kimi Antonelie, started a disappointing house, as well as forced to retire with a throttle issue. Nevertheless, the Mercedes Constractors remains second in the championship, even in the recent race, with the lack of frequent support in Red Bull and Ferrari.
However, they trail McLaren – now clearly the form team – by a difficult 132 points.
Russell’s assessment reveals a growing concern within a brakeli-based squad, which is about the inability to adapt to different track temperatures. The performance of the car’s tire appears as a lot of ups and downs depending on the situation, the previous season resonates the troubles of Mercedes when they were more competitive in the cooler race but lost speed in summer heat.
The 2025 car, which was expected to be a significant development, still seems to pursue the same inconsistency.
“I wouldn’t say that we are running out of thoughts to solve tires,” Russell said, “But as I said, it is cooked in the car.” Attracting similarities with the struggles of his past of Ferrari, he explained how Scuderia had gone by a car, which was now excellent in qualifying for one that now performs better in the race trim – although without fully understanding the change. “We need to find a better agreement, especially beyond the next race,” Russell insisted. “We are coming in summer, and it’s not really good for us. We need to think quickly.”
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
Subjects mentioned in this article
