George Russell continues to suffer from a mysterious performance issue on his Mercedes at Spa. The Brit expects to have to deal with this handicap during the race before a solution is found.
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Since the British Grand Prix weekend, George Russell has been experiencing unusual difficulties with his Mercedes, especially in phases where top speed and energy deployment are crucial.
At Spa-Francorchamps, the gap with his teammate Kimi Antonelli was particularly noticeable. During his last flying lap in qualifying, Russell was already losing ground in the final sector, with more than half a second behind the Italian driver in this part of the circuit.
Despite this, the Brit secured the fourth best time in the session, which ultimately became a third place on the grid after Norris’s penalty. A flattering position, but one that does not hide the difficulties encountered.
Mercedes is still searching for the cause of the problem
Russell had already mentioned a “serious problem” on his side of the Mercedes garage. After several analyses, the German team has ruled out certain leads, notably the one related to driving style.
“After Silverstone, we thought it was due to my driving style, but we eventually concluded that it was not the case. We changed everything” Russell explained.
The Mercedes driver detailed the extent of the deficit observed depending on the sessions: sometimes two tenths lost on the straights, but up to seven tenths during Free Practice 2 at Spa.
The origin of the problem seems linked to energy management and battery deployment, but the team has still not precisely identified the cause.
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“The team is working hard to understand what is happening. We thought we had found the solution several times, then we changed something and realized it was not that after all” he added.
“It’s like fighting with one hand tied behind my back”
Russell acknowledges that this situation greatly complicates his internal duel against Kimi Antonelli, currently the championship leader and particularly strong this weekend at Spa.
The Brit remains convinced, however, that he can compete with his young teammate under normal conditions.
“Against my teammate, even in the best circumstances, it’s already a big challenge. But I know that I can succeed in a direct confrontation” he said.
However, with this persistent problem, Russell feels he must accept a difficult race.
“I feel like I’m fighting with one hand tied behind my back. It’s a challenge, but I will try to endure the pain related to this problem during the race, secure a good result and find a solution for next week.”
As he will finally start from third position on the grid, Russell hopes to limit the damage against Antonelli and Verstappen, while waiting for Mercedes to finally pinpoint the origin of this mysterious loss of performance.
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