Russell: After Bahrain we turned back

As part of Mercedes, only newcomer George Russell earned points at Imola, and Lewis Hamilton finished well behind…

George Russell (4th): “I’m happy that I was able to earn as many points as possible this weekend. From the car we haven’t maxed out yet, but over the past four Grands Prix the situation has changed a bit in our direction.

I’m very happy with fourth place, but to continue to finish in this position you have to get more speed out of the car.

We have limitations in the car’s performance because of the build, problems with the tire warming up and this is the coldest race weekend this year.

After Bahrain, we rolled back further and further in qualifying. I think it has to do with the tire temperature. It was warm in Bahrain, there were no problems with warming up. Then we got to Jeddah, where it’s also hot, but more even tarmac, cooler in Melbourne and cold in Imola. Under such conditions, the cars added McLaren, Alpine and Haas to qualifying but encountered difficulties in the race.

Today I was lucky, I was able to show a decent result, but I started from too low a position.”

Lewis Hamilton (13th): “I won’t forget a weekend like that. I drove a long time for Gasly, but we both used DRS and overtaking was impossible. Then I lost a few positions in the pit stop.

Everything that could go wrong went wrong this weekend. But we learn and move on. I will continue to work as hard as I can to get everything done. I hope for the best weekend in Miami. It’s not easy, but I’ll try to be positive for the next stage.”

Toto WolffTeam boss: “At the end of the weekend it is clear that the team will have to work to provide our riders with a fast car.

In George’s case, we have seen with George what our car is capable of on a free track, but this is not enough. We missed the opportunity to adjust the front wing of George’s car at the pit stop due to an issue, it was set to rain for most of the race, but he handled well and kept fourth.

For Lewis, it was one of those moments when we didn’t give him the right tools. He got stuck in a group of cars with DRS where it was impossible to overtake.

We haven’t built a car good enough for a world champion like Lewis. In Miami we need to re-analyze the situation, get a better understanding of the problems that have arisen and refine the car to solve our problems.