George Russell fears Mercedes now face a ‘painful’ few weeks after McLaren showed the reality of his team’s woes at the Miami GP as Lando Norris won his first race in F1.
The Woking team had one of the slowest cars on the grid when Formula 1 visited Hard Rock Stadium in 2023. Yet McLaren overcame their early problems and the cost cap to be a front-running outfit. They also continued to improve the package to now give Norris a winning car.
Norris could only qualify in P16 at the 2023 Miami GP with teammate Oscar Piastri also only in P19. The duo also finished in P17 and P19 and only moved up the grid once McLaren took upgrades to the Austrian GP. Yet Norris pulled away to win the 2024 Miami GP last weekend.
George Russell doubts Mercedes can improve like McLaren did to win the Miami GP
Red Bull star Max Verstappen had no answer for Norris’ pace after the safety car period gave the McLaren driver the lead of the Miami GP. The 24-year-old had also shown great speed in clean air before the safety car to pull a gap to Sergio Perez and also hunt down Carlos Sainz.
But while Norris and McLaren won the Miami GP using a Mercedes power unit, their engine supplier did not have much joy. Lewis Hamilton was the Silver Arrows’ lead driver in P6, with Russell only taking P8. The Brackley natives had even qualified behind both McLaren drivers.
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Norris and Piastri locked out the third row of the grid for McLaren, ahead of an all-Mercedes row four with Russell and Hamilton in P7 and P8. But while McLaren made huge progress in the 12 months between the 2023 and 2024 Miami GP, Russell does not think Mercedes can.
“A year ago, McLaren qualified 16th and 19th,” Russell said, via Formule1. “It shows what happens when you get things in order, and that doesn’t apply to us.
“It’s going to be a painful few weeks. We just have to accept that we are the fourth team. There is still something wrong with the car. I just had no grip.”
Mercedes face a ‘painful’ search for answers ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP
Mercedes took a new floor to the 2024 Miami GP but it failed to help Russell and Hamilton rival McLaren. The Silver Arrows would have likely finished the race in P7 and P9 if Sainz had not broken Piastri’s front wing when the Ferrari driver fought with the McLaren racer for P4.
Now, the two-week gap ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola will be ‘painful’ as Russell suggests for Mercedes. McLaren have shown their engine provider what is possible by fixing the flaws in their car by winning in Miami. But the Silver Arrows are still searching for the fix.
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