Mercedes driver George Russell says that this year’s W15 car of the German team is a step in the right direction after two seasons of torture.
The Silver Arrows have had a tough last two years, picking up just one win at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, and last season was their first year without a win since 2011.
Much of their problems stemmed from the direction of their design when the new ground effect regulations came into effect in 2022, with the W13 suffering the most from bouncing issues.
This was rectified with last year’s W14, but the car’s instability and top speed along with setup issues continued to plague the German team.
However, the young British Mercedes driver believes they have understood the issues and solved them with the new W15 car, as they look to challenge Red Bull in the title fight.
“The last two years have been challenging for the team. After eight championships and third place, 2022 was a bit of a surprise,” said Russell.
“Not only the result, but also the challenges we faced. We didn’t understand the car. The problems we stumbled upon took a long time to figure out and solve.”
“I feel like we’ve learned so much as a team these two years, we’ve developed our tools. We have a much better correlation between our simulations and the wind tunnel and the actual track, which is key for years to come,” he explains.
George adds that last year’s result in the Constructors’ Championship was not bad. It is clear to him that they need to do a lot of work, but he is convinced that they are on the right track with the new car.
“Ultimately, if you look back at the last 10 years for the team, eight championships and then the bad years were 3rd and 2nd,” he explains.
“So it just shows the expectations we hold ourselves to. The result on paper was not bad last year, but the reality of how far we should have taken Red Bull was too far.”
“We know we have a lot to do. I am convinced that this car will be a step in the right direction. But now we just have to keep working and pressing,” added George Russell.
