George Russell: I’m happy to be a Mercedes driver

In an interview with Racefans.net, George Russell summed up a season and a half of driving a Mercedes…

George Russell: “The work of the team and its technical potential exceeded my expectations. But the results did not match the hopes I or we as a team had for these two seasons.

Last year we switched to a completely new regulation, to new tyres, and in this situation one can do everything right, and the other will make a mistake. I always compare this situation to a large oil tanker: if you steer it in the right direction right away, you’ll get there faster than if you have to make a turn along the way. This takes time. We are just in the process of turning around, but we believe we are moving in the right direction now.

I would call this season a failure, especially if you compare it to the past. In 2022 we finished in the top five in 19 races out of 22 and that was relatively easy, but now it has become more difficult.

I started the season well. In the first six races he successfully participated in qualifying, was confident in himself and got the most out of the car in every session. The last races turned out to be more difficult, we made several mistakes when choosing the settings. The summer vacation was very important, it helped me to reboot, look at the situation from a different angle, think about how to achieve greater speed.

All racers dream of getting behind the wheel and winning every race, but that doesn’t happen. Max spent three and a half, four years with Red Bull before he got the chance to fight for the title. It was the same with Schumacher when he moved to Ferrari.

Every experience brings something new. The experience of victories promises a good future, and the experience of difficult times allows you to learn a lot. There is no wrong experience, you are always learning and progressing as a person, as a professional, as a person.

One of Mercedes’ strengths is the ability to find a solution to problems that have arisen. The core of this team – designers, engineers – has been working together for twenty years. Long before the arrival of Toto Wolff, but he did a great job developing the team and putting the right people in the right roles so that they would achieve high results in their work. We have a lot of great people, you just have to make sure they are in the right positions to bring maximum value to the team.

The main thing we need to improve is the balance of the car in the corners. Lewis and I want to have more confidence in the behavior of her back. Red Bull have done a great job, allowing the drivers to attack at the limit from the first lap, without fear of crashing the car or sending it into a U-turn. We also strive for this.

Lewis is by far the greatest racing driver of all time. I learn a lot from him on the track and off it. He still wants more, wants to win races, and I want to beat him. I’m happy to get the chance to fight with him every race weekend. I believe in myself and want to prove to myself and everyone what I am capable of.

Mercedes believed in me, I’m happy to play in this team. Whether you race for Mercedes or Red Bull, you can be sure that if one of these teams doesn’t win, the other will. As everyone always says, we want to drive the fastest car to win. But it was Mercedes who believed in me, it was they who supported me. Now we continue together, we are connected. Racers give feedback, say what they need from the car. And the team tries to guarantee that.

The rider and the team are like a married couple. Fernando is a good example: you can change teams thinking you’re doing the right thing, but it may not work. Then he switches to Aston Martin, nobody expects anything from this switch and suddenly this car is the second fastest this season on many circuits. It was completely unexpected.

Every season one team does something and the other doesn’t, but I have a lot of confidence in myself. Mercedes and Red Bull are two teams that everyone would like to play in. And I’m happy to be a Mercedes driver. I have to respond to their trust with loyalty and results, do my best and win the championship with them. This is my dream and my goal.”