F1 News: George Russell Breaks Down True Reason Behind Mercedes Spanish GP Success
The upward surge of Mercedes' performance in the Spanish Grand Prix, clinching a double podium finish, has stirred discussions in the Formula 1 community. Many suggested that this was a result of the car's new sidepod design. However, George Russell has emphasised that Red Bull would still be the fastest F1 team, regardless of the sidepod concept they chose to run.
Mercedes has had a sluggish start to the year, with only a single podium in the initial races. This prompted the German team to reconsider its development strategy, with the ground effect era commencing last year serving as a backdrop.
Post the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Mercedes introduced its revised package in Monaco, featuring the elimination of the controversial zero sidepod design. This seemed to pay off in Spain, where both Lewis Hamilton and Russell secured the first double top-three finish of the year for the Brackley-based outfit.
However, Russell clarified to Sky Sports that the boost in performance of the W14 isn't merely because of the new sidepods. He said:
“It’s not the sidepods what make the difference. It may be a factor, but the magic isn’t in the sidepods. We brought that design to the car to kind of rule it out, the sidepods. The magic was done underneath the car, on the floor. That’s the same for every single team.”
Alongside the altered bodywork, Mercedes also debuted an adjusted floor and modified front suspension in Monaco. Further minor upgrades to the diffuser area followed in Barcelona. Yet, Hamilton, in the lead Mercedes, ended up trailing 24.0s behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull, maintaining the latter's impeccable start to 2023.
Russell added:
“I’m sure Red Bull could put no sidepods on their car and still be the quickest. It’s a little bit more complex than that but nevertheless, really happy with the work the team have done and the validation that the steps we’ve made are steps in the right direction.”
Believing in the potential of the modified car, Russell is confident about future victories for Mercedes, stating:
“I definitely had confidence that we could move forward [at Barcelona]. The race pace was really strong this weekend with these updates. I was very disappointed with the qualifying result [12th] but I think it’s proof that you just need to keep on believing. It was a new day, new opportunities out there. We ticked all the boxes. The car was fast, good overtakes – a really enjoyable race.”
Despite the recent uplift, Mercedes still lags 135 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, placing Red Bull on a seemingly comfortable path to retain their titles from the previous season.