George Russell claims Mercedes will topple McLaren as the second-best F1 team by the end of 2023

George Russell revealed Mercedes will bring upgrades to surpass McLaren in the second half of 2023.

George Russell claims Mercedes will topple McLaren as the second-best F1 team by the end of 2023

George Russell (image via Daily Express) Lando Norris (image via PlanetF1)

The Mercedes F1 team has fallen behind McLaren in recent rounds of the 2023 F1 season. The Silver Arrows failed to have an answer to the pace of the Woking-based team at the British GP a few weeks ago. Although, the German team got a better result at the latest race in Belgium. Now, Mercedes driver George Russell has claimed that the Brackley-based team will retake its place as the second-best team.

Russell admitted that McLaren had successfully turned around its fortunes in recent rounds. Lando Norris even managed to get two consecutive podiums this season. However, the Briton believed that such a change in the pecking order is usually the norm in Formula 1. He said, “I think [McLaren] just had a really good run of form. It’s often how it goes in this sport.”

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The British driver was adamant that the German squad would improve in the second half of the season. The 25-year-old hinted at more upgrades from Brackley in the upcoming season rounds. More importantly, George Russell was convinced that Mercedes would soon become the second-fastest team behind Red Bull. The 25-year-old stated, “But I’m confident we can secure [being the] second-best team and try to close that gap [to Red Bull] further.”

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Mercedes is getting back on track in 2023

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after the Hungarian GP Qualifying (Credits: @TSN_Sports/Twitter)
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after the Hungarian GP Qualifying (Credits: @TSN_Sports/Twitter)

The Silver Arrows fell behind at the start of this season. This forced the Silver Arrows to finally abandon its zero sidepod concept in favor of a more conventional design. Although, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have yet to win a race this season. The Brackley-based squad is steadily working towards taking the fight to Red Bull, albeit with a long way to go.

Mercedes has bagged a couple of podiums this season, With Hamilton even taking pole position from Max Verstappen in Hungary. However, Red Bull continues to enjoy a massive advantage this season, with rivals convinced that Milton Keynes might be on course to an easy title win. Perhaps the Silver Arrows can challenge for the championship in 2024.

Thus, George Russell remains confident that Mercedes will once again be the best of the rest behind Red Bull by the end of 2023. The Silver Arrows have lost out to McLaren in a couple of rounds this year. Although Brackley continues to work on upgrades for the rest of the season, that Russell reckons will bolster the team’s results.

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