George Russell sees advantages in having the same driving style as he and Lewis Hamilton. According to the Briton, adjusting the car is then easy and the set-up is like icing on the cake. The 24-year-old indicates that they have been able to try different setups that way, but have been able to follow the same path of development.
Despite the fact that Hamilton has many more years of Formula 1 experience than Russell, the young Briton thinks that his driving style after his first season with Mercedes will match that of the seven-time world champion. “I think Lewis and I have very similar driving styles,” says Russell at the German branch of Motorsport.com. “We all have our quirks, but the great thing is that we’ve tried to develop a range of set-up options. That evolved the car, because we can use different setups, but keep following the same path in development,” explains the Mercedes driver.
That is why it is also advantageous that Mercedes has two drivers with the same driving style. “The set-up is the icing on the cake,” says Russell. “The basis and the focus are on the mechanics and aerodynamics of the car. During the race weekend it’s all about fine-tuning your own car.’ After Mercedes struggled to keep up with Red Bull Racing and Ferrari in the 2022 Formula 1 season, the team’s engineers carefully analyzed the data to learn as much as possible from the mistakes. “I have complete confidence in my team and the way they work. I think we’ve done everything possible with what we know.’
“Something about a boomerang coming back”
On February 15, the German racing stable presented the W14, the battle weapon for the 2023 season. With this, Mercedes hopes to join the fight for the title again. The result is a car that retains the unmistakable DNA of its predecessor and introduces a combination of remarkable changes. “Something about a boomerang coming back,” says Russell. ‘In life you learn from these experiences. Whether we will experience another setback is in the stars. We do not know. We have to prove it on the track and we can’t say much for the first test.”
Watch Formula 1 live next season? Order Viaplay or F1TV or take a look at our Formula 1 TV page.
