George Russell, a key player in the Mercedes team, is confident that their collective experience and learning from the past two seasons will ensure a smooth start to the 2024 Formula 1 season. He assures that Mercedes won’t “stumble at the first hurdle” next year.
What We’re Hearing:
– Mercedes has learned valuable lessons from the past two seasons.
– Despite a tricky season with the W14 contender, Mercedes is optimistic about the future.
– The team is working diligently to set things right for the 2024 season.
– Russell emphasizes the thoroughness of their preparation for the upcoming season.
Go Deeper:
Mercedes’ past two seasons have been a mix of innovation and struggle. The W13 silver arrow, with its unique zero sidepod concept, did not yield the expected results, apart from a single win in Brazil. However, the team has managed to slightly improve its position in the F1 pecking order this season.
The W14 contender, driven by Lewis Hamilton and Russell, has proven to be a challenging proposition. It lags behind Red Bull’s dominant RB19, but Mercedes is not letting these struggles deter them. Instead, they are using their vast knowledge, data, and experience to set a new development direction for 2024.
Russell recently shared in Brazil, “We have 12 months’ further information, direction, and we’ve managed to implement some of these changes we want for 2024, in certain tests, so far this year that work as we anticipate.”
The team is leaving no stone unturned in their preparation for the next season. They are thoroughly assessing every decision, something they felt was lacking in their approach for the 2022 season. This time, they are focusing on quality over quantity in their testing.
Russell added, “I’m confident 12 months later, we’ve now got two years’ worth of learning, I hope we’re not going to be caught out by anything going into next year. This doesn’t mean that we’re going to have the fastest car on the grid. It just means I don’t think we’re going to stumble at the first hurdle.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, despite a disappointing performance in Brazil, is optimistic about the team’s decision to follow a different course in 2024. He said, “At least we know it confirms that the trajectory of changing fundamentally is right.”