“We’re far from optimal,” George Russell hints at a new solution to crack 99 percent of Mercedes’ problems

“We’re far from optimal,” George Russell hints at a new solution to crack 99 percent of Mercedes’ problems

George Russell

George Russell endured a rocky start to his first season with Mercedes. Ahead of the 2022 Formula One season, all teams faced the challenge of new regulations that focused on improving the racing of the team. But Mercedes have been hit the hardest and has struggled to keep up with their competitors in the first two races of the season.

The W13 has been sluggish in corners and unstable in straight due to a huge amount of ‘Porpoising‘. Mercedes-powered teams have also been struggling for straight-line speed at times compared to those running Ferrari and Red Bull-badged power units. This was visible when Lewis Hamilton was knocked out of the Saudi Arabian GP’s qualifying in Q1 itself.

George Russell admitted that the team are yet to find the ideal setup for the car after struggling to find the right balance. The Briton hinted at a setup change that could effectively help his team solve “99 per cent of our issues.”

Also Read: “We’ve not given up,” George Russell hopeful even after Mercedes…

George Russell on Mercedes W13: “The faster you go the worse it gets”

George Russell
George Russell trying out seat testing in Hamilton’s 2021 car

Mercedes have suffered a poor start and has been struggling to find the pace. The W13 has suffered from porpoising and this has made the car unstable in the straights finding itself behind mid-field cars and backmarkers. George Russell explained how changing the engine mode can affect the aerodynamic performance of the car and solve its problems.

Russell said, “The faster you go the worse it gets so it makes it harder for qualifying because we turn the engines up for maximum power to go quickly down the straight. It’s causing more downforce and more porpoising so we almost need to pre-empt this issue and also in the race, with DRS closed you have more downforce than when it’s open.”

He added “That’s another factor we need to consider so we’re still learning and that’s why we’re far from optimal. If we solve the porpoising, that will solve 99 per cent of our issues.” Russell also stated that his car was set up different from teammate Lewis Hamilton’s car during the Saudi Arabian GP weekend.

Russell out-qualified teammate Hamilton in Jeddah and is also ahead of the 7-time World Champion after the first two races. Russell finished 4th and 5th in the two races respectively. Mercedes are bringing new upgrades to Melbourne for the Australian GP on April 8-10.

Also Read: “No need for finger-pointing” Toto Wolff defends Mercedes engines after a…