Russell identifies possible problem with Mercedes: 'That makes Red Bull look quicker'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The Mercedes team have clearly struggled over the winter to find solutions to the rule changes of the 2021 season. The German team fell short of Red Bull Racing in the first Grand Prix on pure speed despite Lewis Hamilton winning the race. In qualifying the difference was very clear, while in the race they managed to beat the Milton Keynes-based team on strategy. George Russell thinks he can spot what's troubling the Mercedes car.
The Williams driver drove the Sakhir Grand Prix last season in the reigning World Champion's car after Lewis Hamilton tested positive for coronavirus. So the Brit knows how the car drives and after the first Grand Prix of 2021, the 2018 F2 champion thinks he can see where things are not going well.
Red Bull not so strong in Imola
Because of the flat track and open desert where Bahrain is located, wind played an important role. Russell had a lot of trouble with it in his Williams and explained in conversation with Autosport that he saw the same at other teams.
"We have to put up with it. To solve this you have to redesign the whole car," with which the Brit referred to the Williams car, which runs with a relatively high downforce and is therefore sensitive to wind.
"I believe Mercedes are in the same boat. They probably had more trouble this weekend too, more than they will have in the coming races. Red Bull and teams like Alfa Romeo will have been just a little bit stronger in Bahrain, than they will be different in the coming races," Russell concluded.