George Russell feels Las Vegas GP will be ‘quick’ but not very ‘exciting’ for the drivers
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George Russell
Recently, Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, alongside Sergio Perez, were in attendance at the Las Vegas Grand Prix launch party, where they drove the Mercedes W12 through the streets. The revised configuration of the circuit features 17 corners and three distinct straights. The earlier configuration was subject to a fair bit of jeering on social media, many considering it ‘simplistic’, more like IndyCar than F1.
As per RaceFans, Russell said to a crowd that the circuit will surely be quick, but not particularly exciting for the drivers: “It’s never simple driving a Formula 1 car around a circuit that’s as fast as this. I don’t think this is going to probably be the most exciting one to drive.” but fans need not be worried, as he thinks that the race is ‘designed for good-racing’.
Obviously, as a racing driver, his goal is to be on top, even if it’s not exciting, and he reiterated that: “But for you guys watching I feel like this race is designed for good racing, for overtakes, good racing, entertainment. And I think the Sunday for us is going to be super-exciting. But to be honest, I don’t really care as long as we’re at the front.”
Las Vegas is certainly set to be quite the event, and that promises entertainment in an of itself, even if the race may or may not disappoint. It’s set in the gambling capital of the world – which draws comparisons to the Monaco Grand Prix. Singapore is also a comparable event to an extent – as the events surrounding the race, and happening around it are an integral part of the experience.
George Russell comments on Mercedes’ chances in Brazil
Mercedes are winless in this campaign. If they are unable to win any of the last two races, they will end the season without a single win for the first time since 2011. It’s certainly not for lack of trying – the package has just not been consistently good enough. However, they would likely had had a shot in Mexico, had they opted for a different strategy, particularly with Lewis Hamilton. But there’s still two races left.
Next is Brazil, where as per RacingNews365.com, Russell expects performance halfway between Mexico and the USA: “I feel like we probably had the fastest car this weekend [in Mexico] and, had we been on the same strategy as Red Bull, we probably could have fought with them. Probably Brazil will be halfway between the two [levels of performance].”
He also thinks that it will be ‘quite difficult’ to beat Red Bull: “Realistically, it’s going to probably be quite difficult to finish ahead of Red Bull at any races this year.”
Brazil is always an exciting race, and the possibility of rain this weekend just may throw a spanner into the works, even though Max Verstappen is definitely no slouch in the wet. We shall see.
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Aniket Tripathi
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